strike witches: an untold past
by OZONE SNIPER
Summary: the story of a boy named John who joins the witches after an accident leaves him using magic to not only keep him alive but let him fight with the witches. but what will happen when the men John used to run with in spec ops return to kill him.
1. welcome to the 501st

it was a rainy day in britannia as the paramedics rushed men to the hospital after a horible accident had happened at a near by research and development lab. The medics knew that the men they were rushing to the hospital were already dead from their horrible injuries, all but one. the one special boy who was still breathing when they got their. that boy was John Walker of the 81st Airborne anti-aircraft battalion.

John is only 15 years old but he can fly with the best of them despite his age. he has been known to be headstrong though and that does get him in trouble allot during missions. hes always trying his hardest because he knows whats at risk if he fails. he was also part of a special operations unit before the 81st but he doesn't like to talk about it. if you were to ask him all he would tell you is he did some bad stuff that hes not proud of. all the information on that unit has been classified to high ranking officers only. the only thing the others know is that hes a pretty good shot with a riffle.

John was at that research and development lab because he was helping the scientists build a new anti neuroi canon. it was going to be more accurate and deliver a larger payload to the enemy. maybe that's where their first mistake was. the payload.

...

"ugggghhhhh" John groaned as he awakened in a place he was unfamiliar with. as he tried to raise himself from the bed a sharp pain in his chest forced him to stay laying down. "where am i?" John asked but there was no one their to answer him. all he could tell was that he was in a hospital because of all the equipment around him. it must be late because all the lights were out in his room and there was no noise coming from the hall outside his room. although John had just awoken he was still weak from his injuries. just thinking about what happened sent pain into Johns chest. all the screams around him as the parts of bomb ripped through the people around him like they were paper. it was truly a horrible sight.

as John recollected what had gone on earlier a man opened the door to his room. he was a tall man with a beard and obviously one of the doctors working the night shift." oh. i see you are awake. I was just coming in to check on your vitals." he said in a hearty tone.

"what happened to me doc. am i going to walk out of this one. am i going to get to fight again" John asked

"i wish i could tell you that boy... i really do." replied the doctor as he gave John a sad look. " allow me to explain what happened to you. as the explosion went off chunks of metal were sent flying all over the room you were in. a few of those chunks of shrapnel were lodged in your chest and began to move dangerously close to your heart."

John suddenly turned pale as a ghost as he heard that and looked down at his bandaged chest to see wires going into the bandages. he had not noticed it when he had woken up but he was attached to a large machine that was powering a magnet to stop the shrapnel from entering his heart.

the doctor continued " removing the metal would be to dangerous and beyond our medical capabilities. our only resort was to connect you to this electro magnet to stop the metal from going any deeper than it has gone."

John just lay there thinking to himself how bad this was. how he could never fly again with this huge thing holding him back. than he began to think small. to think portable. to think powerful.

"hay doc. is their any way i could get some equipment in here?"

over the next week john began to work on a smaller generator that could store enough power to work the magnet but still be small on size so he could still fight. John was a smart kid who helped out when it came to designing weapons but this would be the first time he built something that saved a life instead of take one. as the first day went by he kept getting negative results from the power source he was using. he knew electricity was not going to cut it. as he sat there with his face in his hands thinking he looked at the table next to his bed and saw a news article. it depicted a young girl wearing equipment that looked like a plain fuselage on her legs. he remembered hearing stories about these girls but he had never really seen one before. they were called strike witches and they used magic to power their flight equipment.

"magic..." John whispered to himself as he read on in the paper.

...

a week had gone by and john was full of energy after completing the portable generator (author: not going to reveal it till later to get a better effect on reader) the staff of the hospital were amazed at how quickly he had recovered from the wounds he had. in that week though John had gotten bored of hospital life and was ready to fight again. the doctors wouldn't let him out of his room though because he still had to go through tests and therapy before he could leave.

"but im ready to go. i feel great. i could take down a neuroi with both hands tied behind my back." John tried to explain to the doctors but they knew of his headstrong past and weren't falling for it. they knew John would do anything to fight again and that's why they needed to put him under supervision with people who wouldn't let him get himself killed. they also knew that he could not stay in the hospital because they needed the room to treat other people. with a few calls the military sent in one of their commanders to with special orders to take him under the watch of her unit and make sure he becomes fully recovered.

at the hospital a woman with deep red hair walked down the halls to find Johns room she was wearing a green military jacket but at the same time no pants. she walked in to Johns room to find him standing with his back to her buttoning his shirt.

"excuse me" she asked as John turned with a puzzled glance. " are you flying officer John walker of the 81st AAA battalion?"

"why yes i am. and may i ask who you are"

"My name is wing commander Minna Wilcke of the 501st joint fighter wing"

"oh yes i think i have heard of you before." John replied.

"i am here to escort you to our base fore the rest of your recovery."

"wait what!? i feel fine. never better. if your going to take me out of the fight you might as well put me down as well"

"i have read your file on what you have done just this week and i am both impressed and scared for you. until that thing is taken out of your chest you will not be flying any time soon."

"then where dose you being impressed by my work put me?" John remarked

"we could use someone like you in our unit. what you have done with magic is way ahead of many other great inventions and, if collaborated with the strike unit, could change the tide of this war."

John sat their and just looked at Minna and thought to himself for a second.

"i just have one more question. do all the girls in the military not wear pants or is it just you."

Minnas cheeks turned bright red as she covered herself up.

"for your information its so we can get into the strike units more easily" she yells as she opens the door."so are you coming"

...

the ride to the base didn't take more than twenty minutes but John was happy that he could see the world again from outside the hospital. he had a thing against being held up in a small room for a long time. in the ride John and Minna got to know each other better as they talked about where they were from and what they did before the war. they shared a common interest in music which gave them something to talk about.

when they arrived at the base they reported to a large room with desks lined up towards a podium at the front. John knew it was some sort of meeting room. as he walked down the isle in the middle he saw their were many girls sitting in the rows. their were about ten of them in the room. they were all looking at him as he followed Minna to the front of the room.

"John i would like to introduce you to the members of the 501st joint strike unit. girls this is John Walker he has recently been injured and will be joining our unit for the time being until his recovery. he may not be able to fight along side us but he will be a valuable asset in this war against the neuroi threat. he also is very experienced with a large array of fire arms. we may all learn something from him. He will be joining our research and development team as well."

"Um commander." said a girl with short brown hair and a white fuso navy uniform. "if he is going to be staying at the base. where exactly will he be spending the nights?"

"hmm. That is a good point Miyafuji. this has all been very short notice and i don't believe we have any open rooms in the base." Minna began to look through papers trying to find some way of resolving this problem. " i know what we can do. John you can stay with pilot officer Sanya V litvyak for your time here. as long as that is alright with you Sanya."

"WHAT!" sprang up a girl with long silver hair and a blue Suomus Air Force jacket.

"that's fine with me" said the younger girl sitting next to her.

'she must be Sanya' John thought to himself as he quickly looked over the girl with short silver hair and black and white Orussian Army uniform.'she seems nice'.

"are you serious sanya! your going to sleep with a guy you just met!"

"that's enough Eila. i chose Sanya because she does night watch most out of all of you so they wont sleep together that much."

"oh" replied Eila as her cheeks turned red " that makes sense" as she sat back down.

" well that will be all for now you can take this time to get to know one another. dismissed" said Minna with a smile.

John walked over to sanya when the meeting was over to introduce himself and get to know her.

"hi. so you must be Sanya. its nice to meet you." he said as he sat down next to her at the table.

"oh hi i guess were going to be spending alot of time together." Sanya said blushing

"i guess so" John laughed and Sanya giggled

"so new guy do you think you got what it takes to run with us." said a mysterious voice from behind John. when he turned around he saw a red head with a Liberion Air force jacket standing there.

john broke his conversation with Sanya and stood up to confront the girl. "i know that i can whatever it takes to be the best." he said with a serious tone.

the girl broke out laughing.

"whats so funny?" John was very confused as to what was going on.

"you are. you thought i was being serious about that. you have to learn to lighten up. im Charlotte but everyone calls me Shirley." she said extending her hand for a shake.

"well im not always this serious its only when it comes to combat that i get protective" he said giving her a firm hand shake.

"its not always good to only be serious during a fight. you should be serious with your other duties outside of combat to." said a girl with brown hair that was tied into a pony tail in the back. she was wearing a Karlsland Air Force jacket.

"don't let her get to you she is always a stickler for the rules" said another Karlsland girl with short blond hair as she walked up and patted John on the back. " im Erica and thats Gertrude but everyone calls her Barkhorn"

John had just arrived and he was already meeting so many new people but the formalities were all cut short when an alarm had gone off and everyone bolted for the hanger to get ready. the alarm meant that a neuroi was approaching the base and they had to destroy it before it got by them. John was told to go to the communications room to help guide the witches to the neuroi using the sonar. it was all he could really do.

the witches were armed and ready as they took of for the sky using their strike units. in no time they had caught up to the neuroi. the neuroi was a large type of Neuroi and had take on a cube forme with many spikes pointing out of it. when it saw the witches coming it began to attack by firing lasers from parts of its outer shell. the witches used shields to protect themselves from these lasers. they began to open fire on the Neuroi. each shop broke it apart and opened it up until its core was revealed. one of the girls tried to take the shot but it fired its lasers at her forceing her back. that gave it enough time to regenerate its self.

the girls regrouped to ready their next attack but before they could do that the Neuroi let out a green pulse of light around it that quickly engulfed everything around it, including the witches, and than the light went away.

"that was weird. it didn't do much did it." said Barkhorn as she went to fire her guns but they wouldn't fire."what the hell is going on! my gun wont fire"

the other girls tried to fire their guns too but they didn't work either.

"this is bad" said Hartmann " really really bad"

John had been listening the whole time and knew that if he didn't act quickly he would lose more of his friends this month.

"I need to do something" John said rushing out of the room heading for the hanger. "and i think i know exactly what that something is" as john saw an unused strike unit in the hanger.

back at the battle field things were not going well for the witches as they were taking constant hits from the enemy. Sanya was nearly out of energy and knew the next hit could be bad. she didnt have to wait long because the neuroi had charged its laser and was aiming right for her. Sanya braced herself for the impact but instead of feeling pain she didn't feel anything. when she opened her eyes she saw John had flown in front of her and used his shield to defend her.

"Hay Sanya. are you alright?" John asked as he reached his hand out to her.

"John? but how?" she wondered as she took his hand and he pulled her in to help her fly.


	2. love at first flight

**Disclaimer: i should have put this in the first chapter but here it goes anyway. i do not own the rights to strike witches i am just writing a fun story. i also don't own the rights to iron man because the reason John gets his power is from that comic. i just didn't want to send it in with him already having magic and that explanation just went really well with the story. i hope you enjoy. **

as John pulled Sanya in close to him he could see that she was not doing well after all the fighting she had been doing. after the neuroi broke their weapons it began to focus its attacks on her because it knew she could do the most damage if she was able to get her weapon fixed. Sanya put her arms around John to help her stay in the air.

"Thanks" she said looking up at him and soon they were just smiling and looking into each others eyes. John hadn't noticed what beautiful eyes Sanya had until then. he didn't have much time to get a good look at her back at the base. that moment was short lived though as the neuroi fired another beam at them that John reflected with a shield.

'I can't protect Sanya and fight the neuroi at the same time' John thought to himself as he deflected another beam. soon two young witches came to help out John.

"your the only one with a working weapon. can you take that thing." said the britannian girl.

"I will do my best. I need you to hold on to Sanya though." John replied.

the girls nodded in approval as John helped Sanya to them. at the moment the neuroi had taken the time to slip by the witches, who couldn't do anything about it, and was now headed for the base. John knew he had to double time it to catch up with it in time to destroy it.

"well here goes everything" John remarked as he pulled the large boys anti tank rifle off of his back and griped it in his hands. he knew that if he was going to fight with anything his best chances were with a rifle. the engines of his striker unit flared as he took of towards the enemy. as he pushed the power to get there in time he remembered the words of his instructors that taught him how to use a sniper rifle. You have One Shot, one scoped sight, one compressed controlled breath, one squeeze of a trigger. In twenty one-hundreths of a second, you will either be a "hero" who saved an innocent life or an incompetent who caused the death of a helpless hostage. Life or death, sucess or failure is only one sensitive squeeze away.

"truer words have never been spoken commander" John said to himself as he came up to the neuroi then over passed it. in one swift move John spun around and quickly pulled the barrel of the rifle into position then fired. the shot penetrated and exited the neuroi and its core destroying it instantly.

"that was amazing!" Yoshika said as the witches caught up with him. "you had the shot aimed before you even lined up the gun!"

"yeah. just something i picked up in training" but John knew that wasn't true. he could never had made that shot without the magic in him but he cant explain why this is happening. he wasn't even sure he would be able to fly let alone create shields and slow time to help him make shots.

"you were moving pretty fast out there also" remarked Shirley " he may even be a match for me if he trains hard"

"that's enough girls" Minna butted in "return to base everyone. John i want to see you in my office" she said with a harsh tone.

before returning to the base though John stopped to pick up Sanya from Lynette

"thanks for the save back there. i will escort her to the base you don't have to worry about it." John said as he help Sanya fly back to the base.

Sanya didn't know what to think of the kindness John was showing her as they flew above the see. Sanya had her arms around Johns neck to support herself and John held her with a hug around the hips. Sanya was confused about the situation because she didn't want to ask John if he liked her because they had just meet. She felt weird being this close to him and spent allot of the time looking away and blushing.

"Hay Sanya" John asked looking down at her asking in a whisper.

"Yes John" Sanya replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

"are you okay. we returned to the base three minuets ago and you still haven't let go." John said as Sanya turned red when she figured out what had happened. she was so deep in thought about him that she wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her.

"oh sorry" she said letting go of John and looking away from him " um John i was wondering something."

"whats that"

"do you " but Sanya was cut short from the ringing of the intercom turning on and a loud mans voice filling the hanger.

"Flying officer John Walker. commander Wilcke has requested you in her office"

" sorry Sanya we will have to talk later"

"okay" Sanya replied trying to fake happiness as John ran out of the hanger.'well now i have more time to think of what to say' Sanya thought to herself.

...

John opened the door to Minnas office slowly as he peeked in to see if she was in. sure enough she was there giving him an angry stare across the room.

"sit down John i want to talk about what just happened" she said angrily

"alright" John walked in and sat at the chair in front of the desk.

"reckless. simply reckless behavior from an officer with your background. i have read your files and knew that i would be taking on something different but i had never thought it would turn out like this. furthermore you only just arrived and already you have broken so many rules from unauthorized use of a strike unit to use of firearms without directive. i am very disappointed in you."

"but you know you wouldn't have been able to have take out that neuroi without my help and Sanya would be here if it wasn't for my quick actions."

"that's not the point you need to show self control when it comes to bad situations like this. but on the other hand you did help us out a lot and you are the reason Sanya is still standing here."

"so your letting me off the hook"

"not necessarily. from now on if you want to fly with the strike witches you will have to train like them too. tomorrow you will have an all day session with Major Sakamoto to know what years of training to fly are like in one day."

'this dose not sound good' John thought to himself as he stood up. " thank you for allowing me to join your ranks commander i will not let you down."

when John left the room he noticed that it had gotten late already and he was hungry. he headed down to the kitchen to have dinner.

...

when John arrived in the kitchen he had not realized that everyone else was just arriving too.

"oh John your just in tome for dinner" said Yoshika as John pulled up a chair next to Lynette. at the table John was introduced to the members of the team that he hadn't meet earlier.

"so John tell us about yourself. where are you from" asked Lynette as she gave him a plate.

"well i was born in a small town in britannia and got most of my education from my father who was a farmer but would build weapons for the military in his spare time. when i was 13 i joined the 81st and after two years of never getting hurt in combat with them here i am."

"what did happen to you that made you have to come here we never heard the whole story" Erica asked

"well its kind of hard to explain because i don't remember much either. all i can remember is that we were working on an experimental shell for combat and they asked me to come down because i was one of the members on the team that started the designing of the weapon and they wanted me to inspect it and make sure it was what i wanted before its test. i guess the test came early though because when i was about to leave the base the shell went of scattering metal everywhere. then i woke up in the hospital with a magnet in my chest."

"that sounds like it hurt allot." said Yoshika covering her mouth in shock.

"i cant really remember if it hurt or not so i cant say" John laughed away the horrible memories of the others that died. he didn't want to think about it.

"i have a question." said Perrine " how are you able to use magic if you are a boy"

"well" John said slowly "im not one hundred percent on this but i think it has something to do with the magic battery that i built to run the magnet in my chest. it must be putting the magic in me along with helping me stay alive. as long as its working i guess i can use magic. i still need to run some tests though." John finished taking a sip from his glass "but enough about me id like to learn about you all."

the dinner went on for hours as the team shared stories about their adventures and Joked around with John. they didn't even know how late it had gotten when they parted for their room.

...

John and Sanya tiredly entered their room. it was about midnight when they had ended their conversations with the others. John took of his shirt because it was too hot with all the bandages on his chest and Sanya slept in her underwear as usual. the only thing is is that they were to tired to know the other one was there. they both fell down onto the bed with their backs to each other.

'today was such a crazy day. i joined a new unit with such nice people but i can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen soon. it must be in my head.' John thought to himself as he lay their.' that Sanya girl is really cute though. i would really like to get to know her better.' John remembered the look in her eyes when he held her earlier that day.

'i should just say something to him and not be so shy.' Sanya thought to herself 'he is so nice to me. i really want to be with him and i feel so different when hes around. i feel so happy.'

at that moment they both turned around in the bed to get more comfortable and wound up starring face to face with each other.

"ahhhh!" Sanya shouted in alarm as she covered herself with the sheets and moved away from John

"Im sorry i forgot we were sharing a room" John said as he also moved to one side of the bed. they just looked at each other for a few seconds.

" well good night" Sanya finally said as she turned away red in the face.

"yeah. Sweet dreams Sanya" John replied as he lay their wishing he had done something different to keep her close to him.


	3. A Friendly game of Paintball

early in the morning the sun had just begun to rise as some of the 501st had begun to wake up and prepare for their day of training. Eila had started to make her way towards the kitchen to get some breakfast when Minna stopped her.

"oh Eila i'm so glad to see you i have something to ask of you." Said Minna

"What is it commander" Eila replied still rubbing her eyes tired from the long night.

"i am swamped with paper work right now and need to get back to my office now. could you deliver this to John's room." she said handing Eila a package.

"Yes commander i'll get right on it." said Eila taking the package and walking towards John's room.

...

inside the room John was sharing with Sanya they still had not woken up. the two of them were not early risers because Sanya took the night watch allot so she just started sleeping in to prepare herself for the long nights. John had used up allot of energy the other day and hadn't had time to get to the lab in the basement to replenish it.

The only problem with them sharing a room is that when they did sleep at the same time they would have to share a bed which made Sanya uncomfortable because they had just meet even though she likes him. by the time morning had come John and Sanya were in the middle of the bed together even though they had wen't to sleep on separate sides. John had his arms wrapped around Sanya. Sanya also had her arms around John as she had her head on his chest listening to his heart beat while she slept.

"Sanya? John? are you up?" Eila asked as she opened the door and walked in to see John and Sanya holding each other in bed. "What do you thing your doing!" Eila shouted waking John up and causing him to jump in fear out of the bed and on to the ground.

"Ouch that hurt." John said as he got up."good morning Eila"

"You Idiot! you think that you can just play that off like nothing happened!" Eila exploded

"I have no idea what your talking about."

"don't play dumb!" Eila screamed throwing the box at him "your trying to take Sanyas innocence"

Sanya had woken up with all the noise and was just watching everything unfold. she couldn't help but laugh at how funny Eila was acting. "Eila its fine. He didn't try anything. whatever happened must have happened when we were sleeping." Sanya interrupted with a smile.

"whatever you say Sanya" Eila said walking out of the room red in the face. " that package is for you John. put on a shirt" Eila said closing the door.

"she doesn't seem to like me that much" John said rubbing his head.

"shes a nice girl. you just need to get to know her." Sanya started to get dressed when she saw the box on the ground. "whats with the package?"

"No clue." John said opening it. inside the box was a britannian flight uniform. John had remembered that he deeded a new uniform because his old one was destroyed in the accident and he had been wearing the clothes that the hospital had provided. under the uniform was another smaller box.

"this is strange" he said holding it up. when he opened it up their was a large side arm in the box along with a note. John was shocked to find this gun because he was so familiar with it. it was the Mateba-6 autorevolver that his father had designed and the same gun that he had used as his side arm of choice during his time before the 81st.

"but only they would know i used this" he mumbled examining the gun. it looked like an average revolver except that it was combined with a pistol so it would move on a rail making it more accurate when it fired. it also fired much faster with it being double action revolver but it also shifted when it fired to load the next bullet faster. it was also very powerful for a side arm.

next John opened the note at the bottom.

"Four men on Four nights." he read "They will return more powerful to take what is mine. prepare yourself." John just thought to himself for a moment "what could it mean. who sent cant be"

"that's a nice gun." John heard from Sanya breaking his train of thought."I haven't seen one like that before."

"yeah. its special." John replied as he started to get dressed."where is the firing range at the base id like to shoot it before my training begins" he asked

"lets go get some breakfast first. your going to need the energy if you'll be training with the Major." She said opening the door.

...hours of training later...

"GAH!" John Moaned as he fell onto the runway out of energy from the power draining flight training. "so is that it. all the training i will need to fly in the unit." John asked the eye patched major.

"no" she replied bluntly without emotion.

"What!" John sat up quickly.

"those were just the basics but you do have some skill. you will probably pick up the rest of the formations on the missions. its only half way through the day though. how about we do something different from flying today."

"what do you have in mind" John asked

"paintball? i read your file before you were part of the 81st. i want to see your skill on the ground"

at that moment a small beeping noise could be heard from Johns chest as they both looked at it.

"sorry major. i'll be right back i need to do something first." John said as he ran down to the base towards the lab.

when John opened the door to the lab he abruptly slammed the door behind him and slowly limped towards a tall machine in the corner of the room with a tarp over it.

"looks like using the core for an extended amount of time without replacing starts to damage the body. i'll have to replace this one with a charged one before i do anything." John grabbed the tarp and pulled it off the machine revealing a tall generator looking device that had many wires hanging off of it. the machine also had a small door on it that radiated with blue light from its edges. John opened the door and pulled out a small glowing metal disk. "im going to have to be careful with these things or they could do more harm than good."

...

John walked outside the base and saw that the whole team was waiting out by the forest by the base.

"Nice of you to finally join us. are you felling better now" asked Sakamoto.

"yeah just needed an energy boost before we started again." John joked as he entered the group. looking around John saw that there were two sheds in the clearing by the forest. he didn't know what was in them but he would soon find out.

"Alright girls" Sakamoto started "were going to be doing some land training with paintball. hopefully we will learn something from this exercise."

"so what are the teams going to be" asked Barkhorn

"seeing that John has history with land combat how about boys vs girls." replied Sakamoto

"that hardly seems fair" said Barkhorn

"whats wrong worried your going to lose" joked John

"i never lose" replied Barkhorn angrily

"okay John you will have half an hour to get your supplies from that shed and hide in the woods." Sakamoto said as John went to the shed and quickly started to supply himself with the weapons and equipment that he needs.

"alright he has gone into the woods girls. give him some time to hide while we equip ourselves for a search and destroy combat."

"Major we have never really trained for land combat before." said Yoshika worriedly." do you think we can fight someone who has experience in this field."

"we will find out soon enough. everyone split up into groups Barkhorn your with Hartmann, Charlotte with lucchini, Sanya with Eila, Yoshika and Lynette, finally Perrine your with me. we will split up to cover more ground and capture him with numbers coming from different angles. stay in constant radio communication. once you are hit with a paint ball in a vital point you will drop you weapon and return here ."

"yes sir" they all replied in unison.

"lets go get prepared" as they all started for the other shed.

...

John slowly walked through the forest looking over the aria to see what he could use to his advantage. he had already used allot of his time setting traps for his "enemy" and working on his Camouflage. he knew that he would be wide op if he had stayed in his uniform so he garbed a ghillie suit to stay undetected. he was going to take a quiet approach to them because they were greater in number.

a loud horn was heard over the forest and john knew that it was to signal that the battle simulation had begun.

"this is going to be fun." John said slipping away into the dense forest.

...

"this is creepy" commented Lucchini as she followed Charlotte through the forest "how are we going to find him in a place so big"

"we just started he will have to show up some time" Replied Charlotte

"have you heard any of the stories that the mechanics that work on the strike units have been passing around."

"yeah. i heard a few of those" She said

they were able to hear these stories because Lucchini spent allot of time in the hanger with Charlotte and when the mechanics came in to preform maintenance on the units they would often talk about what they have heard from the other pilots.

"i heard hes a guy with a bad past who would torture civilians in the field when preforming spec ops for britannia." explained Lucchini

"that doesn't sound like something he would do. he seems like a nice guy."

"i also heard he got his skills from a unit of assassins that he joined before the 81st. do you think he wasn't telling the whole story last night when he said he worked on the farm before the 81st."

"maybe he doesn't want to talk about it."

"they also said that the rest of that unit died an a bombing that he instructed in Africa. they say all the records have been destroyed though.

"like i said. if i killed my unit i wouldn't want to talk about it."

they than heard a rustle in the bushes across a clearing.

"did you hear that" Charlotte asked quietly ducking down and readying her gun. "stay behind me Lucchini"

Charlotte started to move forward between the trees when her foot caught on a wire.

"What the hell" she said looking down. suddenly the sound of a gun shot went of and a paint ball hit Charlotte square in the chest. "Gahhh!" she shouted.

"ill get him" Lucchini ran ahead to catch John.

"Lucchini wait stop" Charlotte screamed as Lucchini ran into the forest.

Lucchini looked into the distance and saw the end of a bright orange rifle sticking out of a bush. "Got you now" she shouted as she unloaded into the bush just to find out the rifle was held in position with sticks and a rope tied to the trigger."whats going on here" she asked to herself as a shady figure covered in forest life approached from behind her.

"my turn" he said pointing a bright orange pistol into her back.

"eeeep!" replied lucchini

...

Three gun shots went off in the distance.

"did you hear that " asked Barkhorn.

"yeah" replied Hartmann "do you think they got him already. i was hoping for some action"

soon a call come through on the radio from Charlotte who was now back at the meeting point. "update to all players. Lucchini and i have been eliminated."

"that was fast. i wonder where hes going for now." asked Barkhorn

they continued to walk through the forest when they found footprints heading through the forest to a stream.

"this is not good. we should stay in the forest and under cover he has a better chance of seeing us before we see him." said Barkhorn

"you worry too much. we outnumber him. he doesn't have a chance." Erica said as she walked toward the stream." hay look over their we must be getting close see. she points to a paintball gun that was left on the ground on the other end of the stream."im gonna go get it we could use the extra ammo."

"wait Hartmann it could be a trap" she shouted at her.

Hartmann ran over to the gun and grabbed it of the ground but as soon as she did that an explosion of paint blasted her onto her back. Hartmann Sat up and wiped the paint from her eyes."im going to kill him when we get back to the base" she mumbled

" i told you" said Barkhorn trying to hold back a smile from being right. "but that means hes close."

soon the bushes started to rustle around her. Barkhorn aimed her gun but she couldn't find him she just kept turning as a new bush would move.

"Damn it John. come on out so i can shoot you!" Barkhorn screamed the stress of waiting had started to get to her.

"ok" John said from a foot behind Barkhorn.

"Gah!" she was startled as she swung around to fire but before she could John disarmed her before she could fire. she was shocked at his speed. when she tried to back away she tripped over a rock and fell on her butt. John pulled out his side arm and aimed it for Barkhorns chest.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO" she screamed as she tried to back away away on her hands kicking at the ground.

"you lose Barkhorn" he said as he emptied his clip into her.

...

the radio came back on for Lynette and Yoshika. "this is Barkhorn and Hartmann. were out also." Barkhorn Skulked

"wow he took down Barkhorn shes really tough and its still early into the mission. our odds don't look good do they Lynette." asked Yoshika.

"we just have to try hard." smiled Lynette.

"i have an idea, you stay here and cover me with your rifle and i'll try to draw him out." explained Miyafuji.

"sounds like a good plan. i will take him out when he reveals himself." replied Lynette.

after a few minutes they were in position for the plan to work. Lynette was waiting looking through the sights of her rifle. waiting for John to mess up and come out into the open to take out Yoshika. the others who had been on the radio told them that John was using close quarters combat to eliminate them. she had a feeling that he wouldn't give up the chance for an easy kill.

"whacha looking at" said a voice laying next to Lynette.

without breaking her focus she responded "im waiting for John to try to attack Yoshika than i'm going to shoot him."

"that's a good plan" said the person. "too bad John already got the sniper"

Hearing that Lynette looked next to her to see John sitting there with his pistol to her side. using a suppressor he fired a few rounds into Lynette without being heard by Yoshika. John than took Lynette's place with her rifle and brought the sight down on Yoshika.

"this one was too easy." he said to Lynette who was laying their wishing she could say something but that would be against the rules. she was hit fair and square.

he fired down on Yoshika and placed a good hit in the side of the head. causing her to fall over.'i probably shouldn't have shot her in the head. i should have shot her in the chest. she wasn't facing me though.' John thought to himself as he disappeared into the forest to get rid of the rest of them.

...

the radio buzzed as another update came on "this is Yoshika and Lynette. were down also" said Yoshika rubbing her head.

"uhhhh. we may be next." Perrine cried.

"we just have to watch our backs and not let our guard down." said the Major "he is doing better than i expected. i can't wait to go up against him. he will be a true challenge."

soon they noticed movement in the bushes and readied themselves for him to come. Major Sakamoto lifted her eye patch to find out Johns exact location.

"i found him" she said firing her side arm at him. one of the bullets hit him in the arm. he ducked behind a tree out of sight of the two.

" did you hit him Major" Perrine asked.

"yes but it wasn't fatal. it was just in the arm. lets finish this." she said as they surrounded the tree.

the major made a countdown with her fingers to Perrine to signal when to attack. three two one.

"now!" they moved around the tree and fired.

to their surprise he wasn't there.

"what the! but i saw him go behind the tree." said the Major

"ladies" they heard come from above them. when they looked up they saw John had jumped out of the tree he had climbed up into and was now in mid air with two pistols aiming down on them. before they could get a beat on him he had already fired three rounds into each of them.

"impressive" said the Major as she dropped her gun and walked off into the forest to return to the base."come on Perrine"

...

with a click on the radio the Major came on" this is Major Sakamoto. Perrine and i are down also. its all up to you and Eila now."

"Do you think that John is saving you for last." asked Eila

"what do you mean " replied Sanya with a question look

"come on Sanya. you know what im talking about. you obviously like. i saw how you were looking at him when he rescued you from the neuroi yesterday."

"I..i have no idea what your talking about." she shot back blushing and turning away

"Oh yeah right i haven't seen you take your eyes of him. its fine to have a crush Sanya."

Sanya was quiet for a moment. " i just don't know if he likes me back..."

"he would be crazy if he didn't."

"are you sure your alright with this."

"i'm happy as long as you are" Eila said with a smile. soon the tree tops started to rustle as a branch fell down from one tree then a stick from another.

"hes here." Eila said

'i hope he didn't here what we were talking about' Sanya thought to herself as she aimed into the trees.

the trees then wen't silent and stopped moving.

"this is not good" Eila said stepping backwards trying to get a better look at what was happening. when she stepped back though she put her foot right into a rope that John had set out and it quickly yanked her up into the trees. "Gaaaahhhh" she screamed as she vanished from Sanya's sight.

"Eila?" Sanya asked as she looked up into the trees. soon Eila fell down from the branch hung by her leg upside down and covered in paint ball splatters all over her.

"Run Sanya! Run!" she Screamed Trying to untangle herself.

Sanya dashed of into the forest as fast as she could. she could not believe how afraid she was of John at that moment even if it just was training. it was so scary as she turned to see the leaves from the trees start to fall behind her as she knew she was still being chased.'he is moving so fast from tree to tree i cant even see him.' she thought as she tried to run faster.

soon though Sanya also steeped into one of the ropes and was hoisted up into the tree. "AIIIIII!" she screamed as she flew up into the tree and attempted to covered herself for the impending onslaught of bullets. she soon fell down from the tree still attached to the rope but she hadn't been shot yet. she just stayed their wondering what had happened.

"Hows it hanging" said a voice from behind her a John turned her around to see him

"Ah John!" shouted Sanya as she tried to untie herself. she got the knot out and fell down.

" I Gotcha" said John as he Caught her holding her by her back and Knees like a groom holding his bride.

Sanya looked into Johns eyes again as she blushed.

"were on the ground now John you can let go of me now" Sanya Joked to him reminding him of what he said to her the other day.

"Sorry" he said putting her down.

they then both raised their pistols to each others hearts.

"so this is where the game ends" said John

"i guess so" replied sanya

"Whoever shoots first"

"takes it all"

they then both dropped their guns in unison. John took Sanya and pulled her in and she put her arms around him.

"can we just end it at a draw?" asked John

"its not against the rules. is it wrong if we already love each other" replied Sanya

John looked deep into Sanya's eyes.

"its not against the rules"


	4. old crazy friend of mine

John and Sanya stood their in the forest as the sun began to set in the distance. John had begun to move in closer to her to give her a kiss. Sanya began to move in also to meet his lips but before she could the radio tuned in on Sanyas shoulder ruining the moment.

"Sanya" Eila came on "Sanya are you okay, did he get you."

"i have him in my sights now Eila. I'm going to take the shot" she whispered into the radio. this made John laugh until he saw Sanya bending over and picking up the guns. "they probably wont like the fact that we agreed on a tie" she said handing him the other gun. "were just going to have to shoot each other at the same time."

"do i really need to do this" John asked

"if you don't want to lose" she said pointing the gun at him. John put up his gun and they both fired into each other. putting one shot into each others chest showing a killer shot to the heart. "alright lets head back to base" said Sanya as they started to walk off into the woods. soon the sun had gone down and a thick fog had set in.

"Jez its dark out here" John remarked. after saying that a bush began to rustle gaining the attention of Sanya.

"Eila is that you" Sanya asked as she went to investigate.

"Sanya wait come back" John said as he soon lost her in the fog.

"Joooooohhhhhnnnnn" said a soft voice in the distance.

"Sanya? where did you go" He waited for a response.

"Joooooohhhhhnnnn" it repeated a little louder.

"come on Sanya this is a bad time to be making jokes"

"JOHN!" said a loud deep voice from behind him. John spun around only to be stabbed in the stomach. John crumbled to the ground scraming in pain as the tall man in a trench cloak started to walk circles around him as he licked the blood from his blade.

"Ahhhhhh John" he said in a soft crackly voice. "it has been so long since i last saw you. do you remember me" asked the man. John just lay their coughing up blood. the man stopped walking around him and grabbed him by the hair pulling him up. "I SAID DO YOU REMEMBER ME DAMN IT!"

John was able to muster the strength to speak. "y-yes... i-i remember you... Vlad"

a smile came across the mans pale face that was riddled with slices and scars. "I knew you would not forget me." he said dropping him back on the ground. "they said that you would not remember me. they said that you would lie and pretend not to remember me"

"Who..* cough* Who sent you" John asked covering the wound.

anger appeared on Vlads face as he kicked John in the stomach. "DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" he screamed than kicked him in the face. "they told me not to kill you though. not to kill you yet." as he backed off. "i will be the one to kill you though. they want me to keep you alive so i can destroy you first."

"Vlad... what did you do with Sanya... your anger is with me." John screamed along with his pain.

"NO SHE IS PART OF MY REVENGE! our revenge" he said stepping to the side showing sanya had appeared behind him. she was laying their uninjured but also unconscious.

Vlad snapped his fingers and Johns wounds healed with a flash of blue light. 'what the hell was that. how can he preform magic'

"now the real battle begins. first we will take your friends and loved ones than we will take you life" Vlad said as he turned his back on John.

"wait Vlad... I don't want to fight you. we were friends back in the unit. i turned a blind eye to what you did. sure you were fucked up back then but not like this."

Vlad slowly turned his head to Meet Johns gaze with cold red eyes. in less than a second he had appeared in front of him holding John by his throat. "THEY TOLD ME I WAS NORMAL! I AM NORMAL NOW! YOU HAVE GIVEN ME THE POWER TO DESTROY YOU JOHN WALKER! I WILL ENJOY DRINKING YOUR BLOOD!" he screamed turning into a burning black human figure than evaporating into the air as John dropped to the ground.

"SANYA!" John yelled as he ran to her to make sure she was alright. she was still breathing but John was still worried.

"You Bastard!" John heard from behind him as he slowly turned around to see Eila pointing a loaded gun with live ammo at him. "You have gone to far with this exercise. what have you done to Sanya!" she screamed not taking his sights off of John as he slowly lifted himself away from Sanya.

"listen i know this looks bad but i am trying to help her. i didn't hurt Sanya. im not that type of person."

"Not that type of person! i heard how you attacked everyone without any remorse for how they might have gotten hurt. for gods sake you shot Yoshika in the head."

'i knew that was a bad move' "listen. Eila. i didn't mean to hurt anyone. but we are in danger here. their is a bad man out here with us trying to kill me.

"the only one in danger here is you John." Eila replied still not shifting her aim from him.

"i don't care right now. you can kill me later if you get to me first. right now we need to get sanya back to the base."

Eila lowers the gun with a shocked look on her face. "you really don't care what happens to yourself? you do realize that when you get back to the base everyone will hate you for what you have done to Sanya"

"Eila... the less people that like me the better right now. all i need is help right now. i did not hurt Sanya and i really want you to believe me."

'for some reason i do believe that he did not hurt Sanya. he cares about her too much to hurt her. but why dose he not want the others to know that?' Eila thinks to herself. "i do believe you John" she says putting her gun away.

John puts his hand on her shoulder "than i need you to do exactly as i say"

...

Eila returned to the base with Sanya over her shoulder.

"what happened!" exclaimed Yoshika

"John" she said before pausing and exhaling "John hurt Sanya. i didn't see how but she was their with him standing over her. the game may have gotten to him"

"that sounds about right." replied Barkhorn "he was taking the mission very seriously. it was almost like he was trying to hurt us."

the other girls exchanged looks but they did see how that could be. a few nodded in approval.

"so where is John now" asked Major Sakamoto "he should come forward with what he has done"

"oh uhm.. he ran off into the woods" said Eila trying to come up with an answer.

"are you telling us everything Eila" questioned Sakamoto.

"we need to get Sanya to the infirmary first i'll tell you everything later"

...

as Vlad sat in the tree watching over the girls as they talk he began to talk to himself.

"i shall strike tonight. in one move we have taken his friends away from him and silenced his loved one long enough for us to kill him without their protection. i told them that we did not need the other three to break him. i was the only one they needed."

as Vlad spoke to himself he lowered the sleeve on his black jacket and pulled out one of his knives.

"I am the only strong one" he whispered to himself while slicing into his arm just for it to heal itself.

"the only one that deserves retribution" as he examined the knife.

"the only sane one" he muttered licking the blood of the of the blade.

...

John sit their in the dark as he thought about what was happening to his life.

'this is all i have come to accomplish. i try my hardest to keep people safe from the enemy but now my old unit is returning.' John pulled out the revolver he had received that morning. 'they want me to kill them. it is once again become kill or be killed. just by doing one thing they have changed the teams. i have no one to fall back on. no support and no friends.'

John remembered what had happened that had made Vlad want to kill him. what made him go so silent for the rest of the time he was around him until he had thought he had died.

...

it was after a mission that they had just finished in Africa. just some recon on a small rebel camp that was imposing on a local town. they were waiting for their next order from the base and John was waiting in a tent that he was sharing with Vlad. John was loading bullets into a clip for his rifle when Vlad walked in with a young girl no older than ten over his shoulder. she screamed and pounded him on the back as he threw her on to the bed. at that moment John sprung up from his bead.

"What the hell do you think your doing to that girl" he screamed as Vlad held her down by her arms and started to nibble on her neck.

John threw him of oh her and on to the ground. he than picked up the girl and led her outside.

"Bless you sir" she said as she ran away up the road and out of the camp.

"what the fuck is wrong with you Jack! she was mine"

"you cant do that to a girl that young Vlad you sick freak"

"Take that back" he said tackling him to the ground and pounding his face into the dirt. John kicks him off of him and grabs him by the shirt. "But Jack its what we do. we can take what we want" Vlad says with a bloody smile

"No Vlad. were not rapists. no mater how deep into hell we set ourselves" he than finishes him of with a strike to the jaw. leaving him in the dirt.

"Jack whats wrong with you. were all on the same team" said another man as he ran up to cheek up on Vlad who was now unconscious.

"Jack where are you going." asked another voice that was older than the others. it belonged to the commander of the unit. general Medan.

"i need some time to myself" he said as he wiped the blood from his nose and kept on walking.

"you cannot escape the sins of the Hound Unit John. no matter how hard you try you will not be able to wash the blood from your hands.

...

'I now realize what you mean by that. my sins have returned to take me to hell.'

John put the gun away and stood up.

'i must now face my demons'


	5. werewolves of london

Eila had just exited the infirmary after dropping off Sanya and headed for the lower level of the base when she arrived at a door that had R&D on a sign nailed to it. she slowly peeked in to make sure no one was in their and than turned on the lights to get a better look. the room had many tables and shelves with various mechanical parts and devices on them but what she was instructed to look for was at the back of the room. it was a tall machine with tubes and wire feeding in to it with a glowing blue door in the center. Eila had never seen anything like it before in her life. she slowly opened the door on the machine and turned her head away because the blue light was so bright her eyes had to adjust. she picked up a small round object that was shining with the same glow from inside and shut the door.

"i hope John knows what hes doing" she said observing the small device.

...

Major Sakamoto sat at Sanyas bedside as she awaited the doctors to return with any news on how she is doing. soon though Sanyas eyes began to flicker as she slowly regained consciousness.

"im glad to see that you are alright after what you have gone through." remarked the Major.

"how did i get here" Sanya asked as she looked around the room.

"Eila carried you back to the base after John attacked you. he is still out their and we will put much effort into bringing him to justice in the morning." the Major said with confidence.

"oh yes now i remember. it was really scary" Sanya said as the thought of what she saw made her shiver. " but you said John attacked me... John didn't attack me" Sanya said putting a questioned face on Sakamoto.

"but if it wasn't John who attacked you than who did"

Sanya paused for a few seconds then looked out the window at the full moon above the woods. "it was the werewolf"

"the wha-" Sakamoto attempted to ask before one of the night watchmen barged in through the doors.

"major we have a situation weapons are missing from the armory!"

'what is john up to' she thought to herself "get a search crew ready! we need to get witches in the sky before someone gets hurt."

...

John sit their in the woods on a tree trunk as he waited for Eila to return. John didn't have a watch but he could tell by the darkness it was about ten o'clock maybe a little after that. he just sat their waiting. nothing to do but remember who he was going to have to kill to keep others safe in a short time.

John remembered why Vlad stopped talking to him all those years ago when he let that girl get away. it was a stupid thing to fight over but john knew he had done the right thing. but it was times before that that john loved. the times when Vlad and him would actually have fun together in their time between missions. he remembered the time that they had snuck into the generals privet inventory of expensive cigars. John didn't smoke cigars but he did that day to just to make the general angry. one thing that all the men in the hound unit had in common was that they hated the general. he got where he was on the dead bodies of men fighting for him. the dead bodies of better men that should be where he is but were unlucky enough to be part of his unit.

the silence was broken though as John heard someone approaching in the distance. he ducked for cover behind a tree until he was sure of who it was. Eila walked over to the log carrying a bag filled with supplies and sat next to John.

"here is everything you asked for. you do realize that we can get into allot of trouble for doing this." she said as John began to inspect what was in the bag

"im mostly thinking about the short term effects now" he replied as he moved things around searching for something specific.

"your really not afraid to go against someone as powerful as you described him" she asked with concern in her voice.

"Eila" he said looking at her with a very serious face "its not the size of the dog in the fight that matters its the size of the fight in the dog"

"i see. so their is no talking you out of this" she said standing up and removing the blue disk from a pack she had on here side. "i hope this can help you then" she said handing it to him.

"thanks Eila."John said as he removed his shirt and took the bandages off of his chest to reveal a disk that was placed in his chest already. the disk sat inside of a slightly larger metal ring that was bordered with three peaces of thin long triangular peaces of metal that went off in opposite directions to form a downward facing triangle on his chest."this will help out allot. i wasted most of my energy during our skirmish." he said swapping the disks.

"so that's the thing that's keeping you alive." she asked as she watched him turn the disk into place.

"at the moment yes. you might not want to stick around though things are about to get messy" he said as he walked over to the bag and reached in to it.

Eila ran to the edge of the clearing but stopped and turned to John to tell him one more thing "John... don't die out here. Sanya is waiting for you."

John lifts himself up from the bag holding a M1897 shotgun and loading shells into it "tell her i'll be back late"

the two went their separate ways as Eila rushed back to the base with surprisingly no problems in the forest

'the man John was talking about must be looking for him and ignoring me' she thought to herself as she slowly walked down the hall trying not to raise any attention. soon though she came to a turn in the hall and when she rounded the corner Major Sakamoto was waiting for her.

"we have allot to talk about" she told her dragging her away

...

deep in the forest John tightly griped the pump on the shotgun waiting for anything to happen. the suspense was killing him as he just walk deeper and deeper into the woods. 'calm down John' he thought to himself 'this is just like the time you went hunting with dad'. he tried to think back to other times to keep his mind out of the fear but soon he heard the snaps of branches and the rustle of bushes. he Knew Vlad was close.

John prepared himself not knowing where Vlad would attack from. soon Vlad pounced from behind him as John Spun around and put the shotgun into his stomach. while Vlad was in mid air John dropped to his back and fired a round right into him. Vlad soared overhead with a scram as he tumbled on impact but quickly got back up.

"you haven't lost any of your skill John" he said in a chilling voice "but only one of us will walk out of the woods tonight" upon saying that his stomach had mended the wound.

"then what are we waiting for" John said pumping the rifle ejecting the used shell onto the ground and then aiming it at Vlad "enough talk, lets fight"

Vlad pulled a knife from his sleeve and threw it at John who dodged out of the way only to be cut in the shoulder. John fired another round at Vlad but to no avail as Vlad had put up a shield that coated his whole body.

'this gun won't do me any good if it can't even touch him' he thought to himself as he avoided another throw of knives at him.

"YOU ARE GOING TO BLEED JOHN!" Vlad screamed as he ran in and tried to slash at john with his blade. John abruptly hit him in the chest with the but of his gun and than delivered a kick to his head which threw Vlad to the ground.

"it seems your shield isn't effective at close range Vlad" John taunted

Vlad than swept at Johns feet knocking him down and than jumped into the air stab him on his way down but John quickly rolled out of the way. as he got up he had to dodge Vlad ,who had attempted to kick him in mid air, by ducking under him as he flew overhead. As Vlad raised himself up John brought down a haymaker punch square in Vlads forehead.

Vlad scrambled to get back up and threw another knife at John which lodged itself in his left shoulder. John struggled to remove the blade as Vlad ran up and kicked him to the ground.

"im going to enjoy ending your life John." he said pulling the blade out of his shoulder. "and when i'm done with you i will go after the little silver haired girl that you are so fond of" Vlad remarked with a sinister smile as he licked the blood from the blade.

"you will not harm her" John shouted as he pulled his fathers revolver from his side and put two rounds in Vlads chest.

"GHUUHH" Vlad screamed as he was obviously having trouble breathing right now. Vlad pulled of his shirt to reveal that he also had a magic battery in his chest but instead of glowing blue it glowed a bright red. the round had cracked the battery and left Vlad badly hurt.

"i was not going to do this till i had too but now it seems that i have no choice. the Vlad you see before you today is not the true Vlad" he shouted at John holding his chest as the light in his Batter started to glow deep red. "i shall now show you what great power can do to a person John! what you have overlooked with you puny limits and morals."

as he said this he began to change. Vlads face began to morph into that of a wolf as hair grew around his body and his muscles began to grow larger. soon his shirt ripped off and his jackets sleeves tore to shreds from the pressure. his ears receded and new ones grew in on top of his head. large jagged teeth took the place of his former ones and his eyes became a deep read color. his hands grew large claws and his feet ripped out of his boots. Vlad had truly become a werewolf.

"oh... Shit" John said as a large claw swooped down and punched John a few yards as he hit a tree."I've got to stop him soon or he'll tear me to shreds." John said as he felt over his body for some kind of weapon. he knew that the revolver wouldn't work and he lost the shot gun a while ago then he felt something small and round on his belt that he had almost forgotten about. ' i'm a fool if i think this is going to work.'

"Where did you go John" Vlad said an a snarling demonic voice." i want to eat the flesh off of your bones."

"that'll have to wait till you get back from hell Vlad" John screamed as he jumped from a tree and grabbed on to Vlad. as Vlad screamed John punched his fist down his mouth and throat and pulled it back out. his arm was cut up by Vlads teeth during the escape but he jumped away and held on to his rib cage as he had his back to Vlad.

Vlad started coughing as he turned to look at John "is that the best you can do John. I expected more of a fight from my pray" he snarled at him

"oh you just wait" John says dropping a grenade pin to the ground.

Vlads eyes shrunk as he saw this and realized what was going on "you bastard" he muttered as the grenade went of inside of him throwing his insides through his outsides and with a red explosion the magic core that he used for his power had blown up with a flail of fire and plasma. with the core destroyed their was nothing regenerating Vlad. peaces of Vlad flew everywhere as blood rained down on the grass. in the end all that had stayed where it was was the lower half of Vlads body.

the kick from the explosion threw John back and on to the ground. he was in allot of pain as he looked up into the night sky. John had realized how strange it was to see something every day but never notice how beautiful it was until one moment in life when it all clicks. John knew there was still work to be done and he knew if Vlad had returned their were still the other three. but right now John was to tired to do anything but look up at the sky.

...

above the forest the search party had seen the explosion and was headed their now.

"do you think its John" asked perrine

"is their any doubt about it" replied Barkhorn

the witches landed to see blood and guts everywhere and the legs of a hairy beast on the ground.

"well we found Sanya's werewolf." said Lynette as they looked around.

"John!" Said Barkhorn as she rushed over to him "John are you alright" she asked as she helped him to his feet

"you should see the other guy" he said as he got up with a pain in his chest. "all joking aside thought i think i broke a rib"

"you really do have some skill" Barkhorn said but john had already fallen unconscious as he hung his arm over her shoulder. "lets get back to the base and get you fixed up." she said as they left.

...

the sun began to rise over britannia as John slept in the infirmary. soon though he came to and sat up in the bed.

"Ugggghhhh." John groaned as he was still in pain. magic can't heal everything.

"you sure had some day yesterday" said a familiar voice. as john looked to the side he saw the last person he expected to be sitting by his bed. it was flight lieutenant Barkhorn.

"have you been here all night" John asked wondering why she was here.

"yes i have been waiting to talk to you" she replied. "Eila told everyone about what had really happened and how you set yourself up to look like the bad guy so the wolf wouldn't hurt anyone you were close to if no one wanted to be close to you."

"yeah and what about it" John asked

"well i heard some of the girls talking and they said that even though you didn't hurt Sanya you were still not liked around here. they must not understand what was really going on and think that you didn't want to be part of the team."

"so is this leading anywhere. it seems like your trying to hammer in the fact that i'm alone"

"sorry... i'm not trying to say that what i'm saying is that your not alone now. i want to be your friend."

"what!" John said surprised where this was going. he had heard that Barkhorn was a very serious girl with a very disciplined past. she was like the poster girl of the army. the perfect soldier. it was shocking to hear these strange words come out of her mouth.

"you are a very skilled boy. i have never seen someone do what you did to that wolf in my life. the only problem is that you cant do anything without getting hurt." she says pointing to the many bandages that surrounded Johns body. "you should let me help you fight with you. i can be a great help when it comes to strength"

"thanks Barkhorn. its nice to know that you will be their fore me." he said kindly as he smiled to her and she smiled back.

"well that's all i have to say for now." she said as she got up from her chair and turned for the door. "i look forward to spending time with you John. i'm sure we have a lot to learn from each other. oh yeah one last thing" she said pulling a paintball gun from her side and shooting John in the chest. "like i said flying officer John Walker. i never lose" she said as she left the room.

"that would almost be cute if my ribs weren't broken" John said holding his chest in pain.


	6. wake me up

1940...

it was early in the morning and all that could be heard was the revving of engines from the military vehicles. the large trucks that carried the soldiers into battle were making their way towards the front line off the coast of Britannia. the soldiers were fighting against a private army that had taken control of the beach earlier that week. no one knew how they had gained control of the position because all troops that were sent in to investigate never reported back. all they knew was that the threat was a private army that was under the control of dictator Bastion Hernandez. Hernandez had started the army in south Liberion but was forced to flee to a region in Africa because of army investigation. he affords this army using his power in the black market to arm them and his drug operations to keep them at bay. as long as hes giving them what they want they will fight for him. Hernandez's current location is unknown.

John had just recently joined the Britannian military and was placed in a rifle unit. this was his first mission out of training. John just sat their in the back of the truck and looked at the floor. he had never killed anyone before and knew that where he was going their was going to be allot of death.

"aren't you a little young to be in the military kid" a scruffy looking soldier across the truck asked John waking him from his day dream.

"its the only place i feel i can make a difference. theirs nothing for me back home" John replied

"well that sucks" the man said putting his hands behind his head and laying back. "all i know is that i have a girl waiting for me at home. that's what i fight for"

"i don't have anyone left. my father recently died and i joined the unit to get by on my own" John said as he looked back at the ground

"lighten up kid" said another man with a more trim shave and dark black hair."theirs to much to worry about out their in the field. the least you can do is be happy when your not out their"

"i guess" John sighed

"my name is Jordan by the way" he said shaking Johns hand "you got a name"

"its John... John Walker"

soon the roar of guns was heard and the ground began to shake. the dirt began to fly up around the trucks as they came to a stop at the bottom of a hill. the sand and gravel was flung up as huge shells hit the ground as they began to zero in on the trucks.

"alright men!" shouted the commander over the explosions going off around them "we need to get to the top of this hill and take out whatever mother fucking weapon they have on the other side that's been wiping out our men! now lets move!"

the men started to pile out of the truck and ready themselves for the climb up the hill against the huge missiles that were wrecking the hillside.

"Their is a bunker at the top of the hill with a 50 mm canon stored inside!" shouted the commander "we need to get it operational and push these ass hole private military members off of our beach!"

the men started to charge up the hill with large artillery striking back. they were launching their attack from the beach by lobbing their explosive shells over the hill and onto the the troops. John ran as fast as he could to try to reach the top as he heard the screams of men as they were blown to pieces by the explosives. the men would be running up the hill one moment then the next a shell would fall right down on them destroying them instantly. John was almost at the top when he ducked into a crater to catch his breath and asses the situation.

"We need to turn back kid!" yelled a man from behind John. John spun around to see Jordan had followed him into the hole. "theirs no saving the beach. its lost. we can still get out of here with our lives"

"im not turning back now i have made it to far to quit" John said as he jumped from the hole and progressed up the hill.

John made it to the top and saw what had been destroying all the troops that tried to go against it. it was a giant Fuso navy battle ship that was covered in private army troops.

"they must have stolen at see when it was moving to a new base" John thought out loud as he looked around and finally spotted the bunker. John was making his way over to the bunker when suddenly a shell exploded a few yards away from him.

"look out!" he heard Jordan yell as he was tackled to the ground and covered in dirt from the explosion.

Johns ears rang as he got on his hands and knees and tried to pick himself up.

"Jordan!" John yelled as he looked for the man that saved him. "God damn it Jordan sound off"

"im over here" Jordan replied as john jumped down into a foxhole that Jordan had fallen into.

"Jordan are you alright" John asked as he noticed that Jordan's leg was bleeding.

"im fine John you just need to get to the cannon and blow that ship out of the water. my leg is fucked up bad so don't do anything stupid because i wont be behind you to save you again"

"thanks Jordan" john said as he got up and began to work his way out of the fox hole.

"one more thing John. i need you to wake up..."

"whaaaa..." John replied as his vision turned white

1944...

"John wake up. i have some questions for you" said commander Minna as she sat down next to him in the infirmary. John opened his eyes to see Miyafuji tending to his broken ribs with her magic.

"you should feel much better now" she smiled at him as she finished the magical light faded away and she stood up and walked out of the room.

'what a strange dream' John thought to himself 'it wasn't even a dream. it was just a memory playing back in my mind. is it the stress of the unit coming back getting to me." these thoughts rushed through Johns head as he sat up surprised to feel no pain in his ribs.

"nice to see that you are felling better John but we have something important to talk about" Minna said with a straight face. "first off is that you are here to heal your wounds not create new ones. you may currently be part of the team but you still need to get better and that wont happen if you keep throwing yourself at danger every day."

"I know but if i didn't fight vlad he would have hurt the rest of the girls. im not going to let my business hurt others. i don't care what it takes."

"that's another thing. who was that werewolf that attacked Sanya and you last night. you have allot to explain because your file only talks about the extensive training you were given. i got nothing on past team mates."

"alright i guess it had to come back eventually" john sighed as he started " we were an elite unit trained for specific special ops missions. including me there were six of us. we were trained to combat the private army of Bastion Hernandez. you met Vlad last night when you scraped him out of the woods. he was our close quarters specialist. i don't know how he got the technology to create a magic core because i had just recently created it in the hospital. i probably haven't used it for more than a week. their are others though like Sandman and Mirage. each specialists in specific fields."

"so your telling me one of them went rouge and tried to kill you and Sanya last night" Minna asked

"no i think that their all coming back to kill me" John replied with a scared look on his face

"what makes you so sure of that John" Minna asked

"im sure their back to kill me because they think i killed them two years ago"

as these words exited johns mouth Minnas face was filled with shock but before she could ask any more questions the door to the infirmary opened and Sanya rushed in.

"John!" she said wrapping her arms around him and holding him close to her. " i was so scared when they told me you hadn't come back." she said as tears began to drip from her eyes."you got so injured just to protect us"

"Sanya im fine now. theirs nothing to worry about" John said as he stood up and put his arms around her to comfort her.

"well no mater how much i am against the girls in my unit becoming attached to men it doesn't seem like anything i do now will make a difference." Minna said as she stood up with a sigh "I still have more questions to ask John but i need to do more research. until then i don't want you doing anything reckless" she said as she left the room.

"alright Sanya we should probably go to. im getting tired of waking up in hospitals." John said as he put his arm around her shoulder and they walked down the hall together."

"thank you John. Eila told me everything about how you put you're life on the line to protect me." She said as she looked into his eyes. "you are such a nice person" Sanya said as she leaned in and kissed John on the lips. they held each other for a short time as they kissed one another but soon they were interrupted by Erica who jumped up in between them.

"Hay Sanya. you having fun with John" Erica remarked as Sanya blushed and looked away." John" Erica said in a singing fashion. "are you being true to my good friend Sanya" she said as she pulled Sanya to her side.

"Yes" he said abruptly even though he didn't understand the question.

"Well that's good to know" she said as she pushed them both back together "i was just passing through and thought i would check up on you two love birds" she said as she walked towards the stairs and slid down the rail. "oh yeah" she shouted back up the stairs. "Trude wanted to see you"

"why would Barkhorn be looking for you John" Sanya asked while they were still pressing against each other for some reason.

"i don't know. i guess i should go visit my new friend" John said as they walked down the hall to go find where Barkhorn was.

"will we ever have a moment alone" Sanya sighs as she wraps her arms over Johns shoulders.

"were alone now. i don't have to go see Barkhorn so soon" John replied as he spun sanya around and close to him again."now where were we" John said as he moved in to kiss her but like before they were yet again interrupted.

"come on Sanya" Eila said as she grabbed Sanya and pulled her along with her "we have the night shift tonight. were going to need to get allot of rest."

"i guess i will see you later John" Sanya said as she dragged behind Eila

John was alone in the hall. John threw his hands into the air "welp. better see what Barkhorn is up to" he said walking off

...

John opened the doors to the hanger to see Barkhorn sitting at a table talking with Charlotte. but it was more of an argument than just talking.

"how could a motorcycle move faster than a car it just makes no sense" she yells at Charlotte "its so small and its engine is so much smaller"

"yeah but cars are much heavier so they have more weight to pull" Charlotte replied

"your just not making any sense now" She said as John walked over

"you wanted to see me Barkhorn"

"Oh hay John i didn't notice that you came in i wanted to show you something" she said as she led him over to a sheet that was over a vehicle shaped figure. Barkhorn pulled it off to reveal a jeep that had been modified to have two M2HB machine guns mounted on the hood. it also had rockets that sat inside of the grill.

"what the heck is this thing" John asked looking over the strange car.

"its the new military vehicle prototype. it was designed to be lighter than a tank but still be useful in combat. its tires are made of an unbreakable rubber that is not only able to resist bullets but also light explosive fire. the glass and exterior is also bullet prof to protect the driver. you have already noticed the Machine guns sticking out of the hood. it is also armed with Thompson Machine guns under the seats in case of evacuation into the war zone."

"this is crazy. why would we use something like this in the field."

"were not going to. its only a prototype that they drooped off here because we had the room to store it. its now really going to be used but it keeps the guys at the top thinking we still have good ideas.

"what do they call this thing" John asked

Barkhorn Sighed before answering "they call it the Hammer"

"so why did you wan't to show this to me"

"well i heard that you were going to be out of it for a few days while you recover so i thought i would give you something to inspire you to work hard and invent something new"

"what do you mean"

"i want you to upgrade my strike unit like this car. i want it to have lots of fire power."

"Barkhorn" John Paused. "that sounds like something i can do"


	7. she kissed me

"Get to the Gun damn it" John heard from behind him as he ran towards the bunker to get to the cannon. the shells came down around him as they tried to zero in on the hill. every time one hit the ground they exploded with a splash of dirt and metal. John dove into the trench behind the bunker where the 50mm cannon was.

"that was close" john said to himself as he pulled himself together and looked over the edge to see where the Battleship was. the ship was preparing for another bombardment on the hill as the men ran around the deck and started to load cannons and aim them at the shore. John knew that if their was any time to hit them it was now. he dove into the bunker and looked for some way of opening it up. the bunker was large and their was large chains and many shells for the 50mm cannon in the center of the room. John grabbed on to one of the leavers on the wall and pulled it down. with the grinding of metal and the clanking of gears the room started to lift and the roof opened up as the cannon was pulled up into sight. John jumped up onto the side of the weapon where their were cranks to aim the gun. John lifted one of the large shells into the back of the cannon and placed it inside.

the cannon had lifted all the way outside and John had it locked on the ships command center. as the caption of the ship looked out of the command center on the battle ship he spotted the cannon rising out of the bunker on top of the hill.

"what is that" the caption asked one of the crew members that was walking by. the crew member garbed a pair of binoculars to get a better look. the man saw a large cannon rising out of the side of the hill.

John got to the side of the cannon finding it hard to do this quickly seeing as many people are needed to fire this weapon but he was the only one there. when he got to the firing mechanism he got into position and covered his ears."lets even these odds" John screamed as he fired the cannon. the shell ripped through one side of the command center causing it to explode then exited out of the other. the crew was in total chaos as they ran about the ship not knowing what to do. John loaded another shell and aimed for the front of the ship. John had the advantage of being on top of the hill and firing down on the ship. John had his target ready and fired. the shell went through the top of the ship and out of the side. the ship began to take on water and sink as the men began to abandon ship as John was ready with the next round. he fired it into the biggest gun that they had. this caused the rounds that were already loaded to explode inside of the ship causing massive fire across the ship and blowing another hole in the haul.

John looked over the edge as he sat on top of the cannons barrel as the ship sank down into the ocean. Johns face and hands were black with gun powder and dirt from the gun going off and kicking up all the dirt around him. he sat there as the men at the bottom of the hill started to move up and over the hill and pick off the stragglers that were able to get off the boat before the explosion. John watched as he knew that he had done his part to help his people.

"are you the one that was firing the cannon" asked a voice from behind John.

John turned around to see one of the commanders had come into the bunker after the ship had sunk. "i was the only one that could get up into the bunker" John replied jumping down from the cannon.

"you've got skill kid. i didn't think that anyone could get to the bunker let alone fire the cannon by themselves." the commander said as he put his hand on johns shoulder "i will have to put in a good word for you at command. they want young ones like you to train into the soldier of tomorrow or something. it seems like your already half way their. you could turn this whole private army war on its head in no time." saying that the commander turned around and started to walk out of the bunker he stooped and threw a rag to John "you may want to clean yourself off. i will see you back at the base"

...

in a flash of white light John awakened from his memory that had snuck itself into his dreams. he looked to the side to see Sanya sleeping next to him on top of the covers. 'she must have just gotten back from patrol' John thought to himself not remembering her being their when he had gone to sleep. Sanya had her arms wrapped around Johns arm as he found it hard to not wake her and remove himself from the bed. John dressed himself and walked down to the hanger to get back to work. it had been a week after the attack and their has been no sign of any of the other members of the Hound Unit and John was going a bit crazy. he was not aloud to fight with the Witches because his of his injuries in the explosion. he was aloud to train with the strike unit and work in the hanger with Shirley on the devices that they use but he was not aloud to fight. The only exception would be if his life was in danger but that was it. John knew that for the time being he didn't know how to make a battery that could completely heal his injuries and not just postpone it. he had plenty of time now.

"Morning Shirley" John said walking into the hanger seeing Shirley sleeping by her strike units obviously staying up late working on them.

"huh whu? oh hay John" she said rubbing her eyes and getting up off of the floor. Shirley walked over to the unit john had been working on and started to look it over. "so what have you been doing all this time"

"i have been trying to weaponize this strike unit so that the pilot doesn't have to wast the extra magic on holding up heavy weaponry." John said pointing out the two missile holders that could carry nine missiles each. "their is also an old 5mm cannon that i'm planing on mounting on it some how." John said pointing to the cannon in the corner that was left over from the jet striker.

"but doesn't it take allot of magic to work the weapons." Shirley said trying to break this information nicely to John because the concept of magic was new to him.

"that's what i thought at first" John said as he pulled out some blueprints from under a table and opened them up for Shirley to see . "that's why i drew these up. its a magic reactor that can create magic in the air and power the unit where a witch couldn't"

"it seems like its designed for your heart battery. are you using this project to cover for your research to get you back out into the front lines." Shirly asked with a grin because she knew this was correct.

"well yeah i guess if you look at it that way i could probably use it for that." John said to Shirley as she gave him that don't lie to me look "okay stop looking at me like that" John said looking down at his battery "the battery is running out of power faster and faster. once it runs out of magic in its charge it starts to take away from my own energy to power itself. i don't know how long its going to take before it starts to kill me instead of help me. i need something that can sustain itself with its own magic source. this may be it"

"its fine John you can make it through this." Shirley said trying to comfort her friend. "your a smart guy. you can figure this out."

"i almost have. i have made the device that can hold all the energy but i cant seem to figure out what creates your magic. if only my dad was still alive. he would know what to do."

"im sorry to hear that." Shirley said "if its not to much to ask. how did your dad die"

"it was a long time ago" John said as he took a seat " in the night on the farm my dad was in the barn working on something. this was before i joined the army. i walked into the barn to see that their were other men with him. their were all these charts and drawings on the wall of the battery that he had been working on. it was going to be a energy reactor that was portable. it would be like having a plane that would never have to land to refuel because it would be run on the energy. that's all i knew i didn't get a good look at the blue prints. that's were i got the idea of the original battery but instead of making it run on electricity it had to be run on magic or else it wouldn't work. my father was almost finished with the device when the men came to the barn. he just handed me something wrapped in a scarf and sent me to go get some water from the pump. when i got back the mens cars were gone gone and the barn was on fire. i tried to get in to find my dad but the roof collapsed in before i could get in. i knew my dad didn't get out. i wanted to find who killed him but all that i had was the scarf that my dad gave me before the fire. he had put the revolver inside of it." John said pulling out the gun and showing it to Shirley "i never did find the men"

"that's so sad" Shirley said giving him back the gun.

"but that was then and this is now. i have worse things to worry about than my father. hes in a better place now"

"well i guess that's a good way to think of it." Shirley said getting up and heading for the door. "im gonna go get some breakfast are you coming."

"no" John said pointing to his chest where the batter is "i still have work to do"

...

Shirley walked out the door and into the hall towards the kitchen when she passed Barkhorn in the hall "morning Barkhorn" she said turning around to her.

"oh hay there... um... girl" she said with a strange smile on her face. she than turned around and walked towards the hanger.

Shirley just walked away 'that was weird' she thought to herself shrugging off what Barkhorn said.

...

Back at the hanger john was studding the notes he wrote and crunching some numbers when Shirley walked through the door. and started to make her way towards John.

"oh hay Shirley. i thought you were going to get some breakfast" John said confused.

"i was" Shirley said Knocking John onto the table and getting on top of him "but now i want to eat something else"

"Shirley what the hell are you doing" John said completely confused about the situation

Shirley silenced him by kissing him on the lips as she held him down by lying on top of him and holding his arms down to the table.

"see ya latter John" she said running out of the door.

John was just stunned as he got off of the table and tried to pull himself together. "shit i have got to set this straight before Sanya hears about this"

...

John ran out the door to see Barkhorn leaning against the wall.

"Barkhorn did you see where Shirley went" he asked frantically as she pointed towards the kitchen without looking at him. she just looked at the ground. "thanks Barkhorn." John said running off down the hall. as he did Barkhorn looked up with a sinister grin on her face as she slowly followed him down the hall.

John threw open the doors of the Kitchen " Shirley" he screamed as everyone stopped what they were doing and just looked at John. "come with me into the hall. we need to talk."

"Um okay" Shirley said getting out of her chair and following him into the hall. "alright what is it." Shirley asked as John just put his hand on his head.

"what the hell is wrong with you. you act like you did nothing at all just a moment ago" John said shocked with how nonchalant Shirley was acting

"what are you talking about"

"you just burst into the hanger and threw me down on the table and locked lips with me. its like you don't remember doing that."

"that's because i didn't do that. ask any of the girls. i was in the kitchen and never entered the hanger after i left."

"what are you talking about" John asked as he was so confused about what was going on.

"John i think you need to get more rest. you may be starting to day dream about crazy fantasy's. i like you as a friend but your not my kind of guy" Shirley said as she went back into the kitchen.

"wait but i wasn't day dreaming. What do you mean by crazy fantasy's! i like Sanya!" John shouted at her. "whats going on" John said running his hand through his hair pushing it up.

"Whats wrong John" he suddenly heard from behind him as he turned to see Sanya walking towards him.

"oh Sanya i didn't know that you were up. i need to talk to you about something important."

"oh John i don't want to talk. the only thing i wan't our lips to do is kiss" she said as she threw herself to him and began to kiss him. John closed his eyes as they kissed and when he opened them he was surprised to see that he was kissing Barkhorn when he clearly was kissing Sanya.

"Barkhorn!" John said as he pushed her away."what are you doing"

"John" he heard a cry from down the hall as he had seen that Sanya had just entered the hall to see him kissing Barkhorn.

"how could you" she said with tears in her eyes.


	8. it was all a Mirage

"Wait Sanya its not what you think" John tried to explain to Sanya but she ran off down the hall with her head dug into her shoulder trying to rub the tears out of her eyes. John just watched as she turned the corner and went to her room."alright i know something is up! Who the hell are you and why are you trying to ruin my relationship with Sanya!" John shouts at the woman he knew was not Barkhorn. suddenly a shoe makes contact with Johns stomach Knocking the wind out of him and causing him to fall to the ground. Barkhorn had just kicked him in the stomach and stood over him.

"You don't recognize me John? it hasn't been long since we last saw each other" Said the woman standing over him. "its me your good friend Barkhorn"

"your not Barkhorn. your some kind of spy or something. show me who you really are" John said trying to stand up and being pushed back down by the girl.

"you are still as stubborn as always John but your memory really sucks" she said as an orange glowing spiral starts to spin around her. she some how used her magic to create a shield around herself that could make her look like other people. the glowing magic made the shield drop revealing a girl not a year older than John with long blond hair wearing some sort of black jacket. John finally knew who it was that was trying to tear Sanya and him apart.

"so you are my new enemy. i always knew you would come back Mirage." John said as he tried to prop himself up again only to be beat back down with another kick this time to the head.

"oh its so nice to know you remember me" she said walking back and looking around the room making sure no one is coming."do you Know why i'm here John." she said leaning down in front of him as he rubbed his head still disoriented from the kick.

"yes i know why your here. you came to ruin my life and then kill me before i can make it better"

"well that's a blunt way of putting it but yeah i guess so. i just don't see why you should be happy while we had to suffer all the years. do you know how much pain their was putting one of these into our body." she said unbuttoning her shirt and displaying a orange core lodged in her chest. surrounding it were many scars that clearly showed how inexperienced the doctors were that put it in "now im going to use it to kill you John."

"you don't have to do this Mirage. i know that your a good girl. you know i didn't try to kill you guys you were my friends. it was all a misunderstanding."

"but i have to kill you John" she said pulling at his hair "or else they are going to kill me. its nothing personal other than the fact that you almost doped a bomb on my head." she said letting him go and running half way down the hall to turn around."i will give you a fighting chance though. i'll be on the runway when your ready. you have ten minutes and don't go trying to explain this to your girl friend up their. i will know and ill start killing your other friends." after saying this the orange glow returned and spun around her turning her back into Sanya and winking to John as she ran off.

"This is not going to go well"John said lifting himself off of the ground.

...

Barkhorn had just gotten out of Hartmanns room trying to get her to wake up to no avail. she was walking down the hall and noticed Sanya crying and running towards her. they bumped into each other and Sanya looked up to see who she had hit as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Sanya are you alright. why are you crying" Barkhorn tried to show compassion towards her friend.

When Sanya realized who she was talking to she was overcome with anger."you know why i'm crying! you knew about me and John! How could you!" Sanya screamed as she ran off and into her room.

"what was she talking about." Barkhorn asked herself walking down the hall towards the Kitchen to see running the opposite way. "John what happened to Sanya why is she crying"

"Your not fooling me!" John screamed as he went to punch Barkhorn but she ducked and kicked out his legs from under him.

"John whats wrong with you" Barkhorn asked getting ready to defend herself from another attack.

"theirs only one way to be sure your not mirage. who is your best friend" John asked because he knew Mirage didn't know anyone's names.

"its Hartmann. John you already know this. whats going on"

"sorry someone entered the base disguised as you and i was making sure you weren't her"

"then why didn't you ask the question first and not attack me" Barkhorn said angrily

"sorry i panicked" John said rubbing his head "we need to get out to the run way. i'll explain everything on the way." John said running down the hall with Barkhorn

...

Mirage stood their on the far end of the runway still looking like Sanya as she waited for John. 'what dose he see in this girl. she doesn't seem that great.' she thought to herself as she watched the hanger for someone to come out. eventual John and Barkhorn make it outside to see the not so Sanya waiting for them.

"their she is" John shouts as they confront Mirage without any weapons. "you don't have to do this Mirage. we can help you"

"you cant do anything John" she said as she ran towards them and jumped into the air kicking John in the face sending him flying back onto the tar mat. She then turned to attack Barkhorn. Mirage starts to come down on Barkhorn with a fury of punches and kicks. Barkhorn is trying her hardest to keep up blocking the attacks waiting for a moment to strike back.

John picked himself up off of the ground to get back into the fight when he ran over Barkhorn was still having trouble Mirage had weakened her so much from the attacks and then struck her in the side with a kick knocking Barkhorn over. John ran over but was stopped as Mirage tried to kick him in the side of the head but he caught her foot in her hands.

"now this is the John i remember" she said pulling her foot back and continually tries to punch John as he tries his hardest to block her attacks.

...

Sanya was up in her room crying by the window. when she looked out she saw that Barkhorn and John were fighting with someone out on the runway.

"is that me" she said out loud as she ran from the room to get outside

...

Barkhorn had gotten up off the ground and saw that Mirage was starting to push John back towards the edge of the run way. "damn it John hit her!" Barkhorn yelled at him from across the way.

John was having trouble because Mirage was using her disguise magic to look like Sanya which made him hold back because in his mind he didn't want to hurt Sanya. John knew he had to do it though. he had to put it out of his mind that it looked like Sanya. Mirage backed up and then ran to jump and kick John with a large amount of force that would knock him out. John moved to the side before she could make contact and then brought down a heavy fist into her face as she passed in the air. Mirage fell to the ground as her nose began to bleed from the hit.

She looked up at John who had gone back into a defensive stance. Mirage knew what to do to trick him.

"John Why would you do that to me. its me Sanya" she said as she started to cry on her knees.

John was confused but doped his defenses to help who he thought was Sanya. it was so believable until an evil smile came on Sanyas face as she wrapped her arms around Johns neck and flipped him by the edge of the runway. she held him down and started to slowly move him towards the end over the ocean. the water was a long drop away and if that wasn't enough their were many rocks at the bottom.

"i hope you can swim with a broken neck John. those rocks don't look to soft." John Knew this was the end because he couldn't move his arms to get up. Mirage had locked his arms behind his back. "see you later John. i wish it could have ended differently" Mirage said taunting him before his death.

Before John was thrown over the edge head first a gun shot was heard as Mirages disguise fell and she looked down. her white shirt started to turn red with blood as she opened it up to see that her core had been cracked by the shot in her back. Mirage got off of John and turned around to see Sanya standing behind her holding Johns revolver aimed at Mirages back as smoke was steaming from the barrel.

"You Bitch" Mirage said as she held her chest. Sanya Fired another shot into Mirages head which made Mirage tumble backwards over the edge as she fell into the rocks and rolled into the ocean.

John got up from the side of the runway and ran towards Sanya. "Sanya i'm so sorry i didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"John its fine. i think i have a feeling i know what happened. after seeing myself turn into that girl i can piece together what happened" She said giving John a hug. " oh yeah. you left this in the hanger."

"thanks Sanya. you really saved me" John said as he kissed her but they were interrupted by a moaning down on the run way. They both looked to see Barkhorn on the ground.

John and Sanya ran over to help her up. "Jez John those guys you used to run with are tough. i think i broke a rib with that kick." barkhorn said as they helped her to her feet.

"come on Sanya lets get Barkhorn to the infirmary" John said as they walked her to the hanger.

...

the two had dropped Barkhorn off and gotten John some bandages for his arms and head.

it was already mid day when the fight was over and the two walked into the kitchen to get some lunch. when they did the others couldn't help but notice that John had bandages all over his head when earlier he was completely fine.

"Jesus John what happened to you" Shirley said holding his arm out and looking at the wounds.

"i bumped into an old friend" John replied with a smile as he pulled out a photo of his old unit.

'who's next' John thought to himself siting down at the table next to Sanya.


	9. Harder, Better, Faster, stronger

the engines of the strike units flared as the 501st took off to fight the neuroi once again as John just sat on the side lines and watched as they went to fight the good fight. after they left John walked back into the hanger to look over the notes of the reactor not getting any progress from the other day when he talked to Shirley about it.

"i guess i'm not smart enough to fix this one" John said to himself as he threw all the papers off of the table."why won't it work!" John shouted throwing his fathers gun across the room. "I need help dad!" John just fell to his knees and looked at what he had done."looks like i'm going to have to face facts. i was not men't to stay in this world." John stood up and walked across the room to grab the gun off of the ground."but i won't let what i built put me out. i will not let a mistake kill me" John slowly talked to himself as he opened the cylinder and pulled the other five bullets out and left one in it."i can't even keep myself alive. all the people i used to know i will have to kill. how can i say i am in this war to save people if i'm killing everyone i called friend." John put the gun to his head. "but do i really wan't to kill myself over this. i can fix this i just need something i never ask for. i need help." John just looked over the gun and wondered why it was given to him. who sent it. John started to look it over as he noticed the screws on the handle had the paint scratched off. someone had opened it up and john never noticed it.

John removed the wooden handle from the gun to see that their was a piece of paper onside of the gun. 'dad you crazy fool. you could never just say things. it always had to be some sort of misters.' john thought as he opened the paper to see it was the plans of his portable reactor.'this is what those men were looking for. he died to protect this and now this is what will keep me alive. thanks dad." john said as he stood up and grabbed the plans of the floor and put them on the table."time to get to work"

...

the girls returned from their fight and started to put their equipment away as Sanya and Shirley went to go see what John was doing on the other end of the hanger.

"I did it. It works" John told them as they were confused as to what he was talking about.

"What are you talking about John" Sanya asked him as he picked up a engine that would go inside of a strike unit and put it on the table.

"Watch this it will blow you away" John pulled out a metal short Cylinder that would go inside of his chest and put it into a makeshift wiring core that hoked up to the engine. The engine started to to sputter and power up as it roared with a huge amount of power goes into the engine. it starts to flair with. John handed a device with speedometer like dials on it to Shirley.

"this is crazy the engine is topping out on power but the battery is still at full power" Shirley says with amazement shouting over the loud engine.

"that's because the battery is able to create its own magic energy." John shouts "its an unstoppable dynamo"

the engine started to sputter and shoot flames out from its pistons as the engine started to rip itself apart from all the power it was taking in.

"look out" John Shouts as they dive away as the engine puffs out black smoke and breaks apart throwing gears and bolts everywhere. "well that's all i needed to see." John says standing up and walking over to the core and taking his shirt off.

"are you really going to put that thing inside of you." Sanya says with worry in her voice "it will tear you apparent like the engine"

"its fine Sanya. the engine was just a test to see how much power it can put into one object. i have already upgraded my core to stop taking energy when it becomes dangerous. i won't overpower myself it will level out."

"that's crazy John." Shirley says

"sometimes you have to try some crazy things in life." John said putting in the core as it lights up with a blue glow. Johns cuts on his arm that he had gotten the other day had receded and healed. the battery was working better than he expected."lets do some tests" John said as he jumped into a strike unit and drove it out of the hanger.

...

John and the others walked out of the hanger and into the hall as they walked towards the kitchen to get some dinner.

"John i wouldn't go to crazy with this. the core may work but we don't know if the magic will stay." Shirley says walking with the others

"that's the thing Shirley the core works and that's all i'm worried about." if it stops working i have the old one on stand by. now i don't have to change them or worry about random breakdowns."

the three walked into the kitchen when Commander Minna stopped them and pulled John away.

"what the hell do you think your doing John." Minna asked as he followed her to her office. "again i find you using the equipment without permission while you are still injured"

"that's one thing i needed to talk to you about Minna" John replied as he took a seat in the room "im no longer injured see." he said showing her the new core"

"are you sure that thing will keep you alive"

"yeah i feel better then ever and ready to rock. lets find out who is sending these people after me."

"what do you mean John their is no way the military can set aside time to find your enemies." Minna said as she opened the file on her desk. "before i let you go though i wan't to know who that girl was yesterday."

"that girl" John said as he pulled the picture out of his pocket of the six of them " was Mirage. she was our recon girl in the hound unit. she was good at getting in and out of places. she was quiet around me when i got their but she started to open up after a while. she was a nice girl. i don't know what made her change into a killer. i didn't want to fight her but i had to do it to keep the team safe from her powers."

"she had a core too" Minna asked

"yeah. whoever is sending these people were the same people that killed my father. they must have stolen his research to build it."

"we may need to find these people after all instead of letting them come to us. i give you permission to leave the base tonight to look around the town. whoever it is they must be close to attack without being seen."

"thank you commander."

...

that night john walked into a bar that looked a like a good place to start looking for someone who knew something about the attacks.

"what will it be" asked the man behind the counter as John took a seat.

"i guess i'll have a cola." John said as he started to scan the bar looking for people of interest.

"here you go" the man handed him the bottle "aren't you a bit young to be here"

"im looking for someone" John replied taking a sip of cola.

"someone specific" the man asked as he cleaned a glass.

"anyone here work for the underground. i think they would know what im asking for"

"if your looking for a bad person" he said looking both ways and leaning in "Tony over there is who you should talk to" he said pointing over to a man at a table with other men in dark suits. they all looked like gangsters from the mafia. John was almost frightened to go over but he knew that they would connect him to his man."also you may wan't to watch out. some girl followed you in here. shes not a regular you may want to watch out." said the bar tender as john turned around.

"you have got to be kidding me." John said as he saw that Barkhorn had tagged along with him. "Barkhorn what are you doing here"

"i told you John" she said taking a seat next to him. "i got your back. you can't do this alone"

john smiled finishing his drink"thanks Barkhorn lets do this"

"good luck kid. these guys aren't nice" said the bar tender as the two got up and made their way to the table.

"you Tony" John said pulling up a chair and sitting down as the men all stared at him.

"that's me" said the man with black short hair and clean shaved mustache. "what the fuck do you want."

"i have a feeling you can tell me where to find a man. a man who used to operate in the military but now needs to used mobsters like you to do his dirty work. i'm looking for a man who calls himself the General."

hearing this Tony griped the gun at his side and pulled it out pointing it at Johns head. "you fucking idiot your messing with the wrong guy."

Quickly John moved to the side and ducked for cover before everything went to shit and Barkhorn Joined him. the men at the table all stood up and started to empty their guns into the counter where John and Barkhorn were hiding behind. the alcohol bottles started to explode and fall to the floor and the bar started to be torn apart and wood flew everywhere.

"did you bring a gun John" Barkhorn asked pulling one from her holster.

"yeah" John said pulling out the revolver. "i never leave home without it."

the men were out of ammo as they just looked at the counter waiting for something to happen. suddenly John and Barkhorn jumped up and used the counter to level their aim and as a barrier between them and the mobsters. they opened fire as John shot Tony in the leg and arm first to keep him alive and then they both started to blow away the others.

"shoot at me you will you" Barkhorn yelled as she fired her Walther PPK into two mens chest splattering blood across the floor. as they fell to the ground along with the others. John and Barkhorn shot down all the mobsters as they lay on the ground in pain a few of them had died from their injuries. as their blood started to turn to puddles on the ground as Barkhorn looked around to make sure their weren't any other mobsters still around as John hoped the bar and walked over to Tony who was sprawling in pain on the ground.

"so Tony. you ready to talk." John said bending over to look down at him

"Suck my dick you mother fucker i won't tell you anything" He shouted holding his wounds.

"Barkhorn your clip still full." John asked as she threw him the gun.

"its still got two bullets in it." She replied

"that will be enough. so are you going to talk." he said as he forced the barrel of the gun into Tonys mouth. as Tony began to panic he started to mumble words through the gun. John pulls the gun out of his mouth to hear what he is trying to say. "what was that"

"hes down town at a bar that the mob owns on the other side of town. hes on Davidson street." He told him as John searched Tonys coat and pulled out his car keys.

"thanks for playing ball Tony. im gonna need to borrow your car if you don't mind. lets go Barkhorn."

as john left the bar he put a dollar on the bar. "i hope this will cover the soda" he said as he left

the two ran into the parking lot as John found the car that the keys belonged to. John dropped to his knees as he saw the great machine that he saw in front of him. the mobsters drove a Duesenberg Model SJ.

"this is the most amazing car i have ever seen. a 1935 Duesenberg Model SJ. only 36 were ever made and they have one." the sleek white car had allot of class and speed. it had the average speed of 135 mph. it can go from zero to sixty in eight seconds. it was fast and beautiful.

"you are a very strange person john" Barkhorn said as she got inside the car."do you even know how to drive a car." she asked as John started the car and the engine roared as he revved it.

"i did some offensive driving back in the hound unit." as he adjusted the mirrors and got ready to go.

Barkhorn thought for a second "your supposed to drive defensively though."

John just put the peddle to the metal as he rocketed out onto the street and down into the night.

"so what are you going to do when we get there" Barkhorn asked as she held herself into the chair as they soared down the road.

"im going to walk up to the general and put a bullet in his head." John replied as he turned abruptly down the street as Barkhorn struggled to stay in her chair.

"your a maniac." barkhorn shouted at him

"i thought you said you had my back"

"not when your trying to break the sound barrier in a stolen car."

suddenly the car screeched to a stop as John opened the door and Barkhorn tumbles out of the car."were here" he said walking towards the door and knocking as a man opens a slip to look out.

"whats the password" The pair of eyes.

"oh i don't know the password" John replied as the opening closed.

"how do we get in now John" Barkhorn asked propping herself up on the car trying to work off the dizziness.

"thats a mob car. check the trunk."

Barkhorn opened the trunk of the car to find it was filled with weaponry. Barkhorn pulled out a shotgun and started to load it while John grabbed the Thompson Machine gun.

"now this is what im talking about" John said as he cocked the gun and walked with Barkhorn to the door. John knocked on the door and the eyes came back.

"password" the man repeated

"i think i got it now" John said putting the revolver to the hole and shooting the man in the head.

"was that really necessary" Barkhorn asked

"he would have killed us if we walked in there. these people wont give it a second thought they've done it before. care to open the door"

Barkhorn walked up to the door as her body began to glow with magic and she kicked the door in. inside the bar the mobsters had gotten behind cover as one went to check who had shot the guard when the door flew in and threw him across the room.

Barkhorn and John walked through the doorway and began to open fire on the mobsters. Barkhorn fired the shotgun splattering one man across the room with a gush of red blood across the floor. ejecting the shell she turned to another man and fired again sending him flying backwards. John started opened fire on the other men as the Thompson quickly tore them apart. they just stood in the doorway and continued to fire until their wasn't anyone left.

"i think i'm going to be sick" Barkhorn said as thy walked in.

"thats all of them."john said as he walked towards the back and a man ran towards him with a knife and was abruptly thrown back by a shotgun blast from behind John sending the man flying across the room.

"now that's all of them" Barkhorn remarked as she loaded a new shell.

John kicked down the door to the back room.

"that was faster then i expected did you finish your fathers work John." asked the man smoking a cigar with his feet up on the desk.

"it didn't take much to find you" John replied pointing the Thompson at him.

"who is this man John" Barkhorn asked

"allow me to introduce myself young lady. i am the General. one of Johns six demons that has returned to kill him."


	10. Jumpin' Jack Flash

The general just sat there behind his desk as the room was quiet after the large fight. John and Barkhorn just stood there with tense expressions on their faces and stared at him. the general was a tall thin man with gray short hair. his years in the military showed from the wrinkles in his face and the many awards on his uniform. clearly he was no longer a part of the military in this place though. soon a smile creaked across the generals face as he sat up and clapped his hands into a praying like form on his desk.

"its good to see you again John or would you prefer your old name Jack Frost" the general said in a mocking way.

"i dont know what your doing here but i know what you are going to do. your going to tell me why the hounds are returning!" John said pointing his Thompson to the generals forehead in a demanding manner.

the general let out a short chuckle as he stood up from the desk and walked over to a fire place at the other end of the office.

"ahhh Jack frost it has been so long since we had these heartwarming talks together. how long has it been since that day. two years?"

"stop changing the subject or I will kill you! and stop calling me that name!"

"you don't miss your old code name from the unit Jack. tell me what does your friend their call you. it seems that it hasn't taken you long to make new friends and forget about your old life."

"i told you to answer the question!"

"John. Jack. Jack. John. do you think it was all a coincidence." the general started

"what are you two going on about i can't keep up" barkhorn butted in.

"allow me to explain young lady" the general continued " this war that we are in is just the beginning. once it is over their will be an arms race and magic will be the greatest threat and protector around the world. the army with the most powerful witches will be the ones who rule this world. but i have a different idea for shaping my future. witches have to be born with their power. i wanted a world that i could create my own magic army with living humans. that's where john came into the picture. all he needed was a little push to make him create the link between magic and man."

"the R&D lab explosion" barkhorn shouted

"you tried to kill me in hopes of me building the generator to save my life" John said in a blind rage

"it was not in a hope john" the general started again "it was clear that it was going to happen because of your fathers bloodline. your father would not play ball and make the generator for us and thats why he died. but we knew that his son would be more easily manipulated. it is in your blood to create this weapon and now that we have it their will be no stopping us when the true plan comes together. why do you think we named it the hound unit in the first place. the people we trained in this unit were like dogs. with this power we have breed our fighters to be faster, stronger, and have magical abilities like how dogs are breed to look the way they do or hunt better than others. we have breed a new species of humans."

"so you not only killed my father and tried to kill me but have brought the dead back to life for your magical experiments. this all ends now" john said as him and barkhorn raised their guns and prepared to fire.

"no john i still have a long way to go and you still have more fighting to do. their are still more hounds about" the general said as he made a waving signal with his hands. soon the butt of a gun wacked into the back of Johns neck knocking him unconscious as he fell to the ground with a hard thump.

"John!" Barkhorn shouted as she turned to fire at the attacker but that only caused her to be struck in the face by the gun also knocking her out as she fell on top of John. the general stepped over the two bodies and gave john a small kick to make sure he wouldn't wake up.

"well done boys" remarked the general as he sat back at his desk "do what you want with them but make sure it looks like an accident"

...

1941 hound unit

John sat in the back of the truck with the other members of the team as they road into new york city for their mission. john looked about the truck to see the other members doing their own before this huge mission. to his right he saw Vlad ,his good friend , sharpening his knives as he looks at john with a smile.

"so are you ready for this Frost" Vlad said reminding john that he had to stick to code names for the safety of the mission.

"i have been waiting a long time for this Wolf" John said as he loaded bullets into his rifles magazine.

"lets hope so. how you doing mirage" Vlad said to a blond girl sitting on the other side of the truck.

"I'm on radio support. I'm not freaking out or anything." she said as she continues to work with the radio

"i would be freaking out if i were you. this is a very high value target were going after." remarked Vlad

"yup" agreed a boy fooling around with a lighter" were going after Bastion Hernandez the private army leader who killed all those soldiers on that beach" this boy was Richard May the explosive support of the team. code name Torch.

"you were their when that happened weren't you Frost" Vlad asked

"yeah even when were at war with the Neuroi he chooses to cause trouble and kill soldiers that could be fighting the good fight against the Neuroi. it makes me sick"

"time to get even right Frost" remarked Richard as he strikes the lighter then puts the flame out by flipping the lid back up.

the truck came to a stop and a hatch opened in the front so the driver could talk to the soldiers in the back. "Frost this is your stop. stick to the plan and don't attract attention to yourself."

John threw his rucksack over his shoulder and picked up his equipment bag and jumped out of the truck and moved into the alley. John grew up in Britannia in the country side and being in new york for the first time. but now was no time for sight seeing as he opened the door to the tall building. John ran up the stairs to the floor he was instructed to be on look out on. the room was empty as john locked the door behind him and started to set up his equipment. John switched on the radio to test it.

"this is Jack Frost to Mirage. come in Mirage" John said into the radio

"i read you Frost. are you ready"

"my equipment is set up and loaded. waiting for the signal to start."

"alright Burn and Wolf are getting into position now. good luck"

John looked through the scope of his rifle and spotted Wolf reflecting his knife through the window in the other building. soon they were in position about to raid the floor.

"why would this dictator come to Liberion" Burn asked Wolf as he set up the bomb on the locked door.

"he is probably buying weapons from the underground economy and came to make payments" Wolf responded "but this is our only chance to get him when he doesnt have his whole army behind him"

"are you ready" Burn asked as he struck the lighter

"as ready as i will ever be" Vlad responded

Burn smiled and put the flame to the fuse and they ran for cover as the door was blown off its hinges. the two ran through and started to gun down the security that was guarding the meeting room.

John could see Hernandez run behind a desk next to the window as he heard the gunshots outside the door.

"do you have the shot Frost" Mirage asked as John Trained his sights on his head

"i have the shot. takeing it now." John said into the radio as he pulled the trigger shooting across the buildings high above the streets as the bullet penetrated Hernandez head knocking him across the room sending the others into a panic as Burn and Wolf kicked in the door and sprayed the room.

"Kill confirmed. good shot Frost" Wolf broadcasted over the radio as he pulled a body bag out of his backpack.

"come in Frost do you read" John heard over the radio

"Whats wrong Mirage" John said as he started to pack his bags

"there is a large group of armed men moving towards your position. they are entering the building now. you can't take the stairs down they will be waiting for you."

"what should i do. my rifle wont be helpful in these close quarters."

"i don't know" mirage responded "be creative. that's why your part of this unit isn't it"

john started to rustle through his rucksack for anything that could help him as he pulls out a rope.

"i think i have an idea"

...

present day Britannia

"John. John wake up" John heard as his vision went from black to blurry as he lifted his head to see Barkhorn sitting next to him. John looked about his surroundings to see they were no longer in the generals office. they werent even on the ground anymore. they were aboard a military cargo plane that was flying high above the city.

"finally i have been trying to wake you for almost an hour" Barkhorn said to John

"ahhh my head is killing me" John strained to say as he tried to move his hands but soon found out they were tied to his seat. "any ideas on what were going to do"

"yeah" responded Barkhorn "im going to break that guys nose" she said gesturing with her head to a large strong man that was watching over them.

"well you are awake" said the large man with a thick Orussian accent. "i wouldn't want you to sleep through this" he remarked as he opened the door to on the plane. he than moved a large crate with two pairs of striker units in it next to the open door. "two pilots on a late night flight lose control of their units and crash. no one will ask any other questions." he said as he pulled one of the strikers out and tried to force it onto barkhorn's leg.

"Theirs only one thing wrong with that plan" Barkhorn remarks as the man comes face to face with her.

"and what would that be" he said with his breath reeking of vodka.

"this!" Barkhorn shouts as she breaks the ropes restraining her and slugs the man in the knocking him out with one punch. Barkhorn breaks Johns ropes as well.

"nice punch" John said looking down at the man whose nose is now broken.

soon one of the pilots opens the door and steps out of the cock pit to see what the noise was. when he saw what was going on he drew his gun but John grabbed him and pointed the gun at the other pilot as it went off. the bullet struck the co pilot and two other shots hit the control panel. John choked out the Pilot as he ran into the cockpit to see if he could regain control of the plane but their was too much damage to the controles.

"we need to get off of this plane now" John shouted to Barkhorn "we need to find some parachutes"

as the two searched they finally found the parachutes and started to put them on when suddenly the large man regained conciousness and grabbed John throwing him to the back of the plane as he slamed into the crates and boxes stacked behind them. Barkhorn punched the Orussian man in the stomach with tremendous force knocking him back but he stayed on his feet. she than delivered a left hook across his chin knocking him into the wall head first as he fell to the ground again. Barkhorn helped John to his feet and the two jumped from the plane.

the force of wind pushing against them as they fell felt like they were being held up by the air. they than pulled their chutes as they suddenly are yanked and slown down. as they descend into the empty streets they watch the plane go down into the ocean. they hit the ground and crumple to the ground as the parachutes pull them as it falls to the ground as well. they took off the packs as they sat on the ground and just looked at each other not believing what they had just gone through that night. John stands up and limps over to Barkhorn as he extends his hand.

"im sorry for all ive put you through tonight Barkhorn" he said helping her up

Barkhorn pulls john in and gives him a hug which surprises John as he doesnt know how to react. "its fine John. it's not your fault"

When he hears this he becomes more comfortable and returns the hug then the two realized how long they were holding each other and separated quickly.

"that was just a friendly hug" Barkhorn says blushing and looking away

"yeah just a friendly hug" John replied as he too broke eye contact and scratched the back of his head. "come on lets get back to the base" John said as the pair head off into the night to take the long walk back to the base.


	11. Slight Return

Barkhorn and John stumble past the front gate of the base and make their way to the front door. the sun had just begun to rise over the sea as the two struggle to fight off sleep. The two are practically holding each other up when they open the door to the base. the pair sleepily walk down the hall towards the rooms. as they do they fail to notice that Sanya, returning from night watch, had just joined their tired group. Sanya turned and opened a door. she walks into the room and the two follow behind her.

Eila lay on her bed fast asleep when she was suddenly stirred. she felt her bed shake then a pounding by her feet. she shot up from her pillow shocked and surprised. she looks down to see the familiar sight of Sanya partly undressed hanging over the side of her bed.

"*Sigh* not again... well I guess just this once" Eila said as she pulls Sanya onto the bed. he gaze then falls on John and Barkhorn who were also asleep on her bed.

"you cant be serious... this is ridiculous" She said rolling her eyes and pulling the other two into the bed. she stands over the bed seeing now there was no room for her among the sleepy group of pilots.

"just this once... you two" She mumbles buttoning up her jacket and getting ready to leave the room when she notices Sanya begins to cuddle up to John. she wraps her arms around the tired boy and places her head on his shoulder.

"hmmmm. I guess she is really happy with him." She says with a smile as she leaves the room.

...

a knock comes to Eila's room that was now occupied by the sleepers. Barkhorn is the first to wake from her deep sleep. realizing that she had slept in she springs to her feet and runs to the door.

"sorry i'm coming!" she shouts and swings open the door. she is surprised to see Minna was the one knocking.

"Barkhorn... what are you doing here?" Minna asked. Barkhorn was confused when she realized she wasn't in her room. she then turned around to see she was sleeping with Sanya and John. her face turned bright red and she didn't have any response to her commander.

"i'm not going to ask... I just need to talk to John" she said gesturing to Barkhorn to go wake him up. she begins to lightly shake him to try to snap him up.

"hay Walker wake up" she says quietly. clearly she is not trying to wake him like she would Hartmann. Suddenly in his sleep he wraps his arms around her and pulls her onto the bed on top of him. Barkhorns face turns red as she fells Johns hand slowly move down her back. her head is right next to his when he begins to talk in his dream.

"ahhhhh. Sanya." he whispers into her ear.

"Im not Sanya you idiot!" Barkhorn shouts. this defiantly wakes John up as he stumbles back and falls out of bed. Barkhorn gets to her feet and turns to see Minna is just standing there smiling to them.

"what are you so happy about!" Barkhorn yells.

"you two sure have become good friends." She says with a laugh. Barkhorn just gets more mad and storms out of the room.

"well now that you are awake I would like to see you in my office to debrief you on the events that unfolded last night" she said as john got to his feet and fixed his jacket.

"alright." John said as he followed her out of the room.

Minna takes a seat behind her desk and pulls out some files. John sits down in front of her and the two are silent for a moment.

"A cargo plain in the ocean and half of London shot to pieces. this isn't going to be easy to cover up you do realize John.*sigh* what are you trying to accomplish through all this." Minna asked him.

"I'm just trying to stop some bad people from consuming this world." He responds.

"Then why are you trying to do this all alone. your practically killing yourself by not asking for our help. we are all a team. you need to remember that."

"If i needed any of your help I would have asked for it. I don't care what happens to me as long as I can stop him." John said as suddenly Minna stands up and her hand shoots across the desk and slaps him across the face. She just looks at him angrily. She sighs and her face becomes neutral once again and she takes her seat.

"do you think your the only one who cares. do you think Sanya will be happy at your funeral. Do you think Barkhorn wants to lose someone else close to her." Minna began

"I didn't think of it like..." John started but Minna continued.

"Yoshika has operated on you enough to feel some sympathy for you. She cares about you and you haven't even taken time to get to know her. Do you think Shirley and Lucchini are not going to miss you in the hanger. I think even Eila has gotten to like you a bit."

"alright I get your point... I shouldn't take this so lightly" John said hanging his head.

"Listen John... You may not have anyone back home for you but you shouldn't through your life away. You have people here who care about you deeply. I may not show it much but even I care about you." this shocked John seeing as for the most part he though Minna hated him.

"well... thank you... Minna" John said

"Its true I do care about you. Why do you think I keep covering for you whenever stuff like this happens. Why do you think I even picked you up from the hospital back then. I always knew there was something special about you. I only do this because I care." Minna said with a smile.

John rubbed his red cheek and smiled back at her. "yeah I can feel how much you care." he said and the two laughed "now my face hurts almost as much as my shoulder"

"whats wrong with your shoulder" Minna asked as she stood up and walked over to him.

"oh... its just been hurting since i woke up. don't worry about it." He said

"what did I just say. were a team. we look out for each other." she said examining the back of his jacket to see there was a hole in it by his shoulder.

"John... take of your jacket for me" Minna said

"woah woah. I know you said you care about me and all but I have Sanya." John started.

"no you Idiot. I need to check something. take off your jacket."

John unbuttons his jacket and tosses it onto the table. Minna is shocked to see his white shirt is stained with scarlet blood. at the center of the blood is skin and clothing tattered from a bullet.

"John... You've been shot!" Minna shouted

"what!" john said

"how did you not know you were hit!"

"I don't know! i guess in the moment all the adrenalin and stuff!"

"you've been bleeding all night! we need to get you to the infirmary before you bleed out!" she said pushing him out of the door.

...

Yoshika cleans her hand in the sink and drys them on a towel. John lays in a bed and waits for her. he looks around his surroundings to see many tools and knives.

Yoshika walks over to the bed starts to prepare for the operation.

"so how is this going to work. your just going to do some magic and fix me up right" John asked

"well its not that simple" Yoshika said "we need to remove the bullet before I can heal you or it will do more harm than good." as she says that lynne walks in with a bottle in her hands and gives it to Yoshika.

"is this what you needed" Lynne asked.

"yes this is perfect" Yoshika said with a smile.

"Whats that?" John asked.

"Its alcohol. I need it to disinfect the wound and my tools... and your probably going to need it to." she handed him the bottle and John takes a swig.

"*cough cough* Is this going to hurt" John asked

"Im not going to lie... you may want to bite down on something." Yoshika said cleaning a knife and getting in close to the wound.

"Hay Yoshika... I haven't had a chance to thank you for always fixing me up. We should take some time to talk and get to know each other." John said

"yeah... id like that." she said smiling to him

"alright" john said taking another drink "lets get the lead out" John said as Yoshika dug the knife deep under his skin. a sharp pain quickly shot through him as he began to scream. Yoshika grabbed a leather belt and placed it in his mouth for him to bite on. it didn't stop the horrible pain but at least she could concentrate on what she was doing without all the screaming. after a little digging she finally dislodged the bullet from his shoulder. she held it out to him in her palm.

"see that wasn't that bad." she said with a smile and put the bullet on a tray. Yoshika raised her hands over Johns wound and a glow began to appear around them. her ears and tail revealed themselves as she began to heal the boy. the bloody opening slowly closed and the skin reformed over it. the blue glow began to fade and Yoshika's ears and tail disappeared along with it.

"alright that should do it. you are good to go." Yoshika said taking off her gloves.

"thanks. i owe you one" John said getting out of the bed and grabbing a shirt.

"Its alright. despite fixing your wound... you still don't look to good." she said looking over her team mate.

"yeah i haven't had much time to sleep these past few days."

"well that's no good" she said as she took his hand and dragged him back to his room. "as a doctor I know what is right for my patients and clearly you need bed rest. you are not aloud to leave this room until you have gotten a necessary amount of sleep."

"and how long will that be doctor" John joked.

"i'll get you when I think it has been enough. now get some sleep" She said closing the door.

John was now alone in the dark room. he sat on the bed and let out a deep sigh. the then lay back and drifted off to sleep.

...

A knock come to the door and John rose from the bed.

'is it Yoshika. how long have I been out' John wondered as he walked over to the door and opened it. suddenly a pain fills his stomach as the wind is knocked out of him by a mighty kick. John is knocked back onto the floor as he begins to cough and gasp for air. the sound of cans hitting the ground is now present as John turns to see gas leaking from cylinders on the ground. As he tries to catch his breath he also inhales whatever was in the cans.

John looks up to see a tall man wearing a gas mask standing above him. the man was dressed in black from his coat to his boots and had many containers of the gas strapped to his belt.

"its good to see you again John. Did you miss me. it seems you have gotten a new doctor to take care of you... I thought you may have forgotten about me so I thought I might drop in." The man said. every word was somewhat muffled by the gas mask but that only made his speech more sinister.

"*cough* I should have been expecting *cough* you" John said as he jumped up and grabbed the man by his shirt.

"ah ah ah. Were not going to fight just yet John. I want to have a little fun" he said as his body started to disintegrate into a dark mist. "your in my world now John" he said as the mist flew out the door and into the hall.

John stumbles through the doorway and out into the hall to see that it was much longer then it had been when he first went to sleep. the doors were all warped and so was his vision. when he looked outside the windows the sky was green and the grass blue. John had broken out into a cold sweat and was breathing rapidly. an announcement came on over the speakers with a loud screech that made John drop to his knees and cover his ears. the net thing he knew the muffled voice of the man he was with came on.

"The doctor is in!" the man shouted as he started to break out in a sadistic and evil laugh. John started to run down the halls that stretched on for miles.


	12. comfortably numb

John stumbles down the hall and knocks a vase off of a table. It shatters on the ground and its crash echos for a long distance. John once again drops to his knees and covers his ears as the shattering sound repeats and repeats. he tries to go back up the hall but finds it more difficult than before. The halls are now changing from their usual color to a deep red. It becomes hotter and hotter as John begins to sweat more. he dives through a random doorway to escape the heating hallway.

He looks around the room to find he is in the dinning room and the table is set but there is no one in there. John begins to catch his breath and collect himself.

"alright... there was something in that smoke bomb that's effecting my vision. i'm not seeing things correctly... but everything seems to be in the same place so its not a hallucinogenic... i think..." John says as he starts to walk by the table. as he does this he starts to hear voices all around him. the voices sounded like mix between a demon and little girls.

"whats wrong John... your sweating allot" he heard from the table but when he turned he didn't see anyone there. the chairs then started to move around by themselves.

"what the hell!" John said as he placed himself against the wall to try to get away.

"John calm down... whats wrong" said one voice

"you need some water... keep an eye on him while i get some" said another

"his eyes are all bloodshot... I thought I told him to get some sleep" said the third. then John felt hands touch him but there was nothing there. his heart was pounding from the fear. he started to push at the air and felt bodies that were again not there to see but he continued to struggle against them.

"hay what are you doing! stop that now!" John heard from the voices.

"good John... break away from my pets" John heard from the doorway and looked to see the man in the gas mask again.

"You! you did this to me!" John shouted at the door.

"who is he talking to" Said one of the voices.

John then darted towards the door and jumped at the man. John grabbed him and the two fell through the door as it shattered around them. they both then fell into total blackness.

John fell alone for a short time. The man in the gas mask had suddenly vanished from John's hands. as he fell he could still hear the voices from the room again.

"where is he going... don't let him leave the base" He heard as it got fainter and fainter.

"hes running to fast... we cant keep up" another said as it finally vanished in the distance.

'my eyes... they are not showing me everything... the base is warped' John thought to himself.

'that's right John... Just follow my voice... don't trust your eyes. let your body do the work... it will all be over soon.' John heard inside his thoughts.

"What are you doing in my head! get away from me!" John shouted. suddenly his back hit a couch in a large room. he gets up and looks about his surroundings to see it is lit by candles and had large windows overlooking the ocean. the sun was setting in the distance and the sky was lit up with beautiful colors.

From behind John he heard a piano start to play. he turned to see that at the far end of the room sat a large black piano. John walked over to it and looked behind the large cover to see Sanya sitting there and playing alone. her eyes closed as her fingers carelessly danced over the keys. The song she played was the most beautiful music John had ever heard. It was soft, slow, and sad. It was like listening to the sunset that he saw.

"we were worried about you John. we thought we lost you when the man with the mask attacked you" she said as she turned to John and smiled.

"what do you mean." John asked

"you were knocked out when we got there. But you just woke up a minute ago" She said

"oh. i guess so" he said taking a seat next to her by the piano.

"Play with me John" she said softly. The two began to play as one and the music rang throughout the room. the beautiful melody danced through Johns mind as he played with her. Sanya leans her head on Johns shoulder. John feels a relaxing happiness inside him as Sanya leans over and kisses him on the cheek. Johns turns his head and their lips meet each other. They share a passionate kiss that lasts for a long time.

John feels as if rain is falling down on his head and shoulders as they kiss. it felt so strange to fell this felling.

'wait this really is rain' John thought to himself as he opened his eyes to still see Sanya kissing him. the felling of rain was coming out of no where.

"wait wait... this isn't real... i don't even know how to play piano... i'm sorry Sanya... wait... but your not even the real Sanya" John says as Sanya slowly stops playing the piano.

"*sigh* why couldn't you just let it end like this. why don't you want to be happy in the end John" She said as she stood up and kissed him on the forehead. as she left the room the darkness quickly closed in.

The sound of rain quickly got louder and louder and John began to feel much more wet and cold over the seconds. John opens his eyes and is now back in reality.

"so you figured it out... I guess that was expected of you" John heard from behind him "I was so close to"

John turned to see the man with the gas mask standing behind him. John looks around his surroundings and somewhat recognizes where he is. He and the man stand on top of a glass sun roof on top of three story building. the building was a train station close to the base in town. under the skylight John could see the large statue of a witch holding the flag of Britannia on a spear below them. the rain fell hard on to the roof.

"It was a Hallucination all along. If i hadn't felt the rain i may have never broken free. I could feel what my body felt. but not see it." John said.

"yes... and I used this new Magic to control what you saw. I was so close to making you jump." he said as john turned around to see that he was close to the edge of the building and there were train tracks below where he was going to jump. " yeah... the train was going to be here soon. it would have been a glorious death. the fall would shatter your legs and the train... your body. Why didn't you stay with the girl though" the man asked.

"Because I knew I still had a chance to see the real Sanya. I wasn't going to settle for the fake." John said

"You really think you can defeat me. I have already mastered the ability to make shields. you can't get close to me" The man said

"Why are you doing this Sandman. we used to get along great back in HOUND. why don't you come back with me and we can talk it over. we can help you" John said trying to convince him.

"so i see you figured out who I am. I'm flattered you remembered my code name" the man said as he took of the mask revealing a man with long black hair and deep red eyes. "but that doesn't change how much i hate you. You think you can give me anything the general cant. he has given me power. a new life. a future of total control over the world. what more could I want. all I have to do is get rid of the man that tried to kill me."

"I never tried to kill you guys. the general is playing you. once i'm out of the picture hes going to drop you and the others who are still alive." John said

"he told me you would say that. You don't have long though. I will just take control of you once again and finish the job. but this time I will let you watch. You wont get a fantasy world. you will only get to see the light of the train as it runs over your head."

"*sigh* I'm sorry I have to do this... but If you wont listen to reason then you will have to get out of my way." John said drawing his revolver from below his coat. "I am going to stop the general no matter what. even If I cant hurt you with my gun. I know what can"

John than aimed his gun at Sandman and placed the sight on his core. Sandman pulled his shield in front of him to protect himself.

John then slowly aimed the gun down at the skylight that they were both standing on and opened fire.


	13. Falling for you

The bullet penetrated the glass and ripped out the other end. it began to crack beneath sandmans feet as he braced himself. The crackes began to grow due to the weight on the skylight. As they spread over the roof they began to make their way past Johns feet as well.

"you fool! if you break the glass you will fall to your death as well!" Sandman shouted.

"there is one thing that everyone who has come to kill me never takes into concideration Sandman..." John said as he pulled the hammer back on his revolver and aimed at the ground between them. "I won't die until my work is done!" John shouts. he than pulled the trigger and fired into the sun roof of the builting and the glass vilently shattered on contact.

"NOOOOOO!" Sandman shouted as the ground beneath him fell to pieces and he lost his footing. Time had once again started to slow down for John as he looked down at the cracks in the glass moving towards his feet. the glass then broke into small shards and the next thing he knew he was also falling. He looked across from him and watched as Sandman shouted and flailed his arms as he fell. Sandman crashed back first onto the statue of the Witch that stood in the midle of the train stations main room. The spear the statue held went into his back straight through his core and the weight of his body forced it through. In a flameing explosion of gray light and plasma his battery erupted in his chest and he slid down the spear.

"GAAAAHHHHHH!" Sandman shouted as the pain consumed him. he was then stopped at the hand of the statue and lay on his back. The battery's metal was melting into his skin and burning his flesh. to escape from the pain he was going through Sandman grabbed one of the canisters from his belt and opened it. the thick hallucinogenic gas began to pour out of the can. He but his lips against the opening and took a deep breath of the gas. His eyes turened from white to red from its effects and he slowly let go of his life.

John plumeted to the ground at an alarming rate. he put his arms out to protect himself if that would work in any way. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact but suddenly he felt something softer than the ground hit him. then he heard the noise of fabrick tearing and then the sudden hard ground.

"ouch... that hurt." John said as he reluctently lay on his back ammazed that he was still alive let alone able to move after landing on his back. he looks up to see he had landed on an awning that had slown his decent to the ground. he looks up at the statue to see that Sandman wasnt as lucky. John watches as blood and glowing silver plasma drip down the spear and onto the ground. From outside John can hear the alarms of police vehicals ariveing to the gunshots.

"that cant be good... I need to get back to the base" John said as he tried to get back of his feet but it was to weak. a three story drop is still very draining even if you are lucky enough to catch the awning He ended up proping himself against the wall and waiting for the police to come get him. The boys in blue rush the building and fan out throughout the room. the sound of crunching glass can be heard all around as the officers charge in. the men surounded John and aimed their guns down on him.

"so you'r the man that's been shooting up the joint all night. it isn't the forth of July Mr. USL." The head officer said lifting John to his feet and throwing cuffs on him.

"I'm a Britannian..." John mumbles as they start to drag him back to one of the cars. His strength was completely taken out of him and he couldn't even muster the power to try to defend himself.

"Wait!" John heard from behind him as he is about to step into the truck. The officer turns to see a small Orussian girl running towards them.

"what do you want girl. We are in the middle of something here." The officer said.

"Sanya... I..." John started to try to say but he still was to weak.

"I am Sanya Litvyak of the 501st JFW and this is my wing man John Walker. I have military orders to escort him back to our base." she said handing him a piece of paper. the officer scans it over and then looks at John who gives him a halfhearted smile.

"well It seems you walk free tonight boy. but don't think you will be so lucky next time." the officer said stuffing the paper into Johns chest and pulling out the keys to let him go. Sanya helps support him as he almost falls to the ground.

"Its alright John i'm here. we need to go on a bit of a walk to get back to the base though. do you think you can make it?" Sanya asked as John through his arm over her shoulder and met her with a deep stare.

"Sanya... is it really you... are you here..." John asked as he started to drift off. Sanya smiled and the two started to walk off into the night.

"yes John. its really me. you don't need to be afraid. you are safe now"

The officer watches as his suspect get away slowly with the girl. the rain was pouring down hard and lightning was flashing in the sky.

"sir" Said a man from inside the building "you may want to take a look at this."

The officer walks into the building and looks up into the skylight. It was too dark to see anything from where he stood but suddenly the crack of lightning lit up the and the crash of thunder can be heard for miles.

The officer looks up in horror at the body impaled on the pole. Sandmans body had been burned to a char from the plasma dripping from his core.

"I think we are going to need to keep an eye on that Walker boy." The officer said as men run up with stretchers and ladders to retrieve the body.

...

John wakes up in the hospital bed he is far to familiar with. His head feels deflated after all the fighting and lack of sleep. The lack of sleep along with the drugs had left him a killer headache. He sits up and grabs a water off the table next to the bed. On the table there are many bloody rags and a dish filled with pieces of broken glass and blood. It was clear he had many more injuries from the fall then he remembered.

"John your awake." He hears as he fells someones lips kiss him on the cheek. he turns to see that Sanya was there to greet him.

"I thought you were going to need more time to recover from what happened last night." She said

"I guess I did. I still have a splitting headache though." John said as he rubbed his forehead.

"it may be a side effect from the drugs you were inhaling. Minna was able to do some research when we found the cans in your room and she traced it back to failed experiments in the Karlsland army. it was a hallucination inducing gas that was supposed to disorient the enemy and even cause them to attack themselves. it was thought to be to inhumane to use on living soldiers so they scraped the project." Sanya explained to John

"Leave it to HOUND to find something a soldier wouldn't use to kill their enemy... and try to kill me with it." John said as every word made his head hurt more.

"Just take it easy for a bit John." Sanya said seeing the strain in his face. "The effects of the drugs were obvious though. when you crashed into the dinning room with those red eyes. it was so scary. I tried to help you but you fought me and the others then ran away." she said

John thinks back and recalls going into the dinning room on his "drug trip".

"so you were his pets... my mind made me think you were demons" John said

"That's why you looked so scared. Well its all over now" Sanya said giving him an assuring smile.

"I wish it were over... Its only half way through... there are still more of them..." John said

"And that's where we come into play" John and Sanya heard from behind them as the door swung open and the entire 501st walked in.

"John its time you told us why these men are trying to kill you." Minna said as she pulled up a chair.

"Were going to help you in any way we can" Hartmann said as she also took a seat.

"First we need to know who we are up against though" Eila said

All the witches gathered around and took seats in chairs and on top of the empty beds.

"alright... I guess if your in for a penny your in for a pound." John said looking around at everyone who wanted to help him. he became happy that all of them wanted to help him.

"look at that" Charlotte says remarking at his warm smile."he has finally figured out were here for him." she said giving him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"Alright John. tell us everything you can so we can plan for when the next attack is." Mio said

"Okay... I guess I will start with why they are trying to kill me. It all started in Africa..."


	14. Telling his past

Deep in the hot desert of Africa a cloaked figure walks over the dunes. His scarves and cloth blow in the wind as sand kicks up from the ground. The sun beats down on him from above as he adjusts the rags over his face. In the distance he sees a small building at the top of the hills. its a small tower made of wood and sheet metal that overlooked the mans true target. He adjusts the strap on his shoulder that holds a large box as he takes cover behind some rocks.

"it seems i'm a bit early. better hang back here and wait for the others to arrive." the boy said to himself as he takes off his goggles and rags revealing the dark haired britannian boy. John drops his case and lays against the rock as he waits for the sun to set. Every now and then he would look over at the tower and see how many guards were there. Soon day became night and it was time for him to move in. John pulled a radio transmitter out of his bag and turned it on.

" Come in HOUND unit. This is Jack Frost. give me an update on your location." John said as he crawled out onto the edge of the darkness. Down over the hill he saw his target. It was a huge fort made of scrap metal and wood. it was large and well protected by guards posed all over. it stretched on far in the desert as John strained to see the end. This was the last holding point of privet army that had been a thorn in the united nations side for some time. The HOUND unit was sent in to finish this fight and take out all the stragglers who were still trying to make their deceased leaders dream come true. although their high command had been terminated their numbers hadn't decreased by much. John could see that hundreds of men had were holding this fort and not ready to give up without a final fight.

"Hmmm... these odds seem against us... where are they" John said looking through his binoculars into the dessert. Soon he sees a small flash of light. he picks up the transmitter once again.

"confirmed. wait for my signal as i take this tower then move in." he said as he grabs his box and moves over to the tower. John slowly pushes the door open and looks inside. He sees a man is sitting at a table and reading a magazine. The man had left his gun out of reach and John took the opportunity to take out the threat. John slowly came up behind the man ready to knock him out when the door slammed shut behind him. The man shot up from his chair and turned around to face John. In surprise he shot towards John and began to wrestle against him in attempts of grabbing his neck. John put up his arms in attempts to keep himself safe. The mans Strong arms begin to get closer and closer to his neck as he yells for help. John puts his leg behind the man and pushes him back. He trips over his leg and stumbles back. Before he can catch himself John grabs his shoulders and slams his head into the table.

"well that was effective" John says to himself when suddenly another enemy is upon him. A second guard tried took the butt of his rifle and slammed it into Johns back. He fell to the ground in pain as the man pointed his gun down towards his head. Before he could fire John kicked his legs out from beneath him and dropped to the ground. The rifle fell out of arms reach as the man struggled to get it back. John grabbed the man and slammed him back to the ground. The man continued to shout for help from other soldiers who may be near by. John begins to panic knowing that any second now his position could be compromised due to all the noise. He tries to silence the man by putting his hand over his mouth but he continued to scream.

"Shut up! Shut Up!" John said as the man panicked and kicked beneath him. John pulled the knife from his boot knowing he had to silence the man. He looked down at the man and saw the fear in his eyes as they began to tear up as he saw him raise his knife. The muffled shouts didn't help John any more. He held the knife high but couldn't pull it down on his enemy. He felt such pain seeing the man struggle for his life.

"Its either you or me..." John said quietly and brought the knife down hard on the mans neck. Blood shot up as the man continued to flail and kick. John pulled the knife out and continued to stab him in attempts to put him out as quickly as possible. The mans eyes roll up as John feels the strength leave him. His arms go limp on him and he stops kicking.

John got up to his feet and grabbed his equipment. Before heading to the top of the tower he looked back on the bloody mess. with a sigh he knelt down and closed the mans eyes.

"This is not your war anymore" John said and walked away. He set down the radio at the top of the watchtower and turned it back on.

"I'm at the top of the watch tower... You can move in HOUND" John said as he opened the box and pulled his rifle. Loading the magazine into the gun and adjusting the scope. another voice came over the radio as John began to look through the scope at the fortress.

"Alright Frost. This is the General. All you have to do is keep Sandman and the others safe. They are going to take out the anti air guns so our bombers can level the place." He said to John.

"I can handle this. We will be in and out. Once they are ready to take down the guns i will call in the bombers." He said into the radio and continued to watch the team. one by one he saw them cut through the gate and move in.

"Alright... the wolf is in... Duke, Sandman, Mirage, Burn..." He said watching them slowly move through the base. the time went by slowly as he waited for them to finish planting the explosives. after some time they were ready to destroy the guns.

"Frost. were all good down here. call in the bombers and we will blow the place." Burn said as John picked up the radio.

"This is over watch leader Frost to spear head. code name Jerry 435323. were all ready for you. You wont have anything holding you back." John said as a mans voice came on.

"confirmed. ETA to your position twenty minutes. you may want to get to a safe spot" he said and then the radio went silent.

" Alright guys. lets get out of this place" He said to himself as a huge explosion goes off in the distance and the AA guns fall into the sand. Their ammunition destroying most of the surrounding area.

"nice... now lets get the hell out of... wait a second." John said looking through the scope into one of the buildings. He see women and children being held inside of cells. They looked weak as if they had been working for long hours.

"You guys we have civilians in the blast zone! We need to call off the strike!" John shouted into the radio.

"We may never get a chance like this again Frost. We'll get them out in time" Vlad said as they make their way into one of the buildings with the others. John begins to open fire on the guards as they rush towards their location. Every shot hits its mark as the men drop down. Although he is hitting a large amount of troops their are too many of them to fight. The random cries for help began to flood in from the radio from his comrades.

"Jack! we need cover down here!" Burn shouted

"how are we going to get these people out of here." Vlad said.

"Jack! we need... Damn it! Sandman has been hit!"

John stares down at the radio with a scared face. "there not going to make it in time..." John thought to himself. he dove towards the radio and called up the bombers.

"this is Frost. Jerry 435323! Abort Mission! There are civilians and Allies in the area! Abort!" John shouted into the radio but nothing came back.

"damn it! I said Abort! Your going to kill them!" He screamed into the radio but still nothing. He threw the radio down in rage but then a familiar voice came on.

"We cant let you do that Jack. This mission is to important to turn back on."

"General? What the fuck are you doing! your going to kill them!" He shouted at the man

"No John... your going to kill them." He said and then static began to come over the channel.

John picked up the radio and tried to call the other but it wouldn't work anymore. He could hear the buzz of the bombers coming overhead.

"Damn it! this isn't happening!" he said as he jumped from the tower into the sand. He rolled to brake the fall and started to run towards the fort.

"If i can get there in time i can help get them out of there" he said running down the hill. overhead the bombers had already arrived and started to drop their load. John had made it a few yards from the gate when they hit the ground. The explosion sent him flying into the sand. John raises his hands to protect himself as he feels the burning of the inferno in front of him. he begins to black out as he watches the bombs drop to the earth then explode with a blast of sand and metal. the screams of soldiers could barely be heard over the explosions.

...

John rubbed his eyes as he told his story. The girls listened patiently as he continues to speak of his past. some were shocked at what they had heard but knew they had to listen. it was the only way to prove they were behind him one hundred percent.

"I remember the noise mostly... No matter how much noise those bombs made I could still hear their screams. I knew somewhere in there my friends were burning alive... And it was all my fault." John said as he stared out the window.

"now hold on! That wasn't your fault!" Minna interrupted him.

"can't you see! If i hadn't seen those kids They wouldn't have had a reason to stay! I sent them all to their death!" he shouted at her.

"No John! You were only trying to protect the innocent! Your friends were good people who gave their lives to try to help those people with you." She said. John just looked away but then felt her take his hand. He looked back at Minna as their eyes met. "you are a good person John. none of this was your fault." she reassured him.

"Thank you commander." John said to her and slightly smiled as he felt he words sink in. he began to feel a bit better about himself.

"After that i woke up in the desert and made my way to the nearest base. After a trip back to Britannia I was striped of my rank for what happened. I tried to warn them of the General but they said there wasn't any proof of the event. They disbanded the unit and sent me away to the Air Force." he said in a sad tone.

"that's horrible" Shirley said as she stood up from the bed. "Clearly the General has to be stopped." She shouted. the others agreed with her as the room began to explode with commotion.

"Alright girls. settle down. Clearly we all want to help John. But its his fight so we must let him decide how we can help. What do you say John?" Mio asked him

"Just... Give me some time... Once i heal we can think of something." he said

"alright girls. lets let John get some rest for now." Minnna said as they all began to exit the room. As they left Shirley was the last one to pass as John took her hand before she could walk out. She looked down at him surprised.

"Hold on a sec. I want to talk to you." He said to her as the others left and the door closed behind them.

"whats up?" She asked taking a seat next to him.

"I need your help with something... Once I get out of here I will need help on something big. The General isn't going to sit around and wait for us to come to him... hes planning something big. I need to improve the striker so I can stop whatever threat comes our way." John said to her.

"Sounds good... but your still trying to fight alone. I will be at your side to fight. I'm not just a mechanic." She said

"I know... I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of my past." he admitted to her. he then felt her lips on his forehead as she gave him a kiss. his cheeks turn red as she pulls away.

"that's what we like about you John. You are always trying to protect everyone. But I want to protect you as well." she winked at him.

"I hope we can work together allot more when you heal. I will get to work on some new striker planes while your down. now get some rest" She said pushing him back down onto the bed and giving him another kiss. this time on the cheek before she walked over to the door.

"uhm... yeah... thanks Shirley." he said.

"I'll be seeing you around. Now get some rest." she said and left the room. John lay there alone as his mind begins to wonder. He begins to doze off but finds all he can dream of now is the orange haired beauty.


End file.
